Facing the Storm
by SpicedGold
Summary: Elsa is trying to adjust to life after the Thaw: Being Queen, getting to know her sister again, getting a handle on her powers. But then something threatens the safety of Arendelle, and Elsa needs to find a way to protect her kingdom and everything else she loves.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – The Storm Inside

**The storm outside is almost as bad as the storm inside. Elsa is trying to cope with being Queen, getting to know her sister again, and embracing her powers. But then the safety of Arendelle is threatened, and Elsa is going to have to come up with some way to protect her country.**

It was mid-winter in Arendelle.  
There had been a snow storm raging for two days now, heavy winds howling around the castle, snow battering against the closed windows. The sky remained dark and grey, and telling day from night was challenging.

Anna had been inside for both days, agonizing over the weather, because Kristoff was still out there. He had left for the North Mountain before the storm had begun, and hadn't made it back yet. She had complete faith that he was safe, probably cozied up somewhere with Sven, singing cheesy duets. But until she saw him, safe and sound, she was going to worry.

She was also going to worry about Elsa.

The first day the storm began, the Snow Queen had paled slightly, sending uneasy glances out of the windows. She had paused, often, to stare at the sky and link her fingers together throughout the day. She had not come to supper that night, nor breakfast the next day.

Now, the sky was darkening and night was clearly coming on that second day. Anna tore herself away from her window, chewing worriedly on her bottom lip. If she couldn't see Kristoff, she could at least see Elsa.

Even though, in the few months following her coronation, Elsa had never once said 'go away' to a knock on the door, Anna still hesitated for a moment, hand raised. Then she swallowed, and rapped firmly on the door.

She wasn't sure if it was related or not, but the wind outside howled louder for a moment. Anna pressed her ear against the door, trying to hear if anything was happening inside. There was silence.

Anna knocked again, firmer this time, and called uncertainly, "Elsa? It's me. Are you in there?"

Silence again.

Anna put her hand on the door handle, and pushed it down slowly. She peered cautiously into Elsa's room. The curtains were open, the storm visible beyond the windows, and there was a small, Elsa-sized lump in the bed obviously snuggled the duvet.

Anna took a few more steps into the room. "Elsa? Are you awake?"

Why would she be asleep? The lack of an answer was a bit worrying, and Anna tiptoed around the bed to see Elsa. She could see a bit of forehead and platinum hair, but the rest of her sister was apparently scrunched beneath the covers.

Anna pulled the blanket down slightly, and Elsa nearly leapt out of her skin. The Queen jumped sideways, obviously surprised, blue eyes snapping open. Then she saw Anna, with one eyebrow cocked, clearly wondering what had her sister so jumpy.

Elsa took a few deep breaths.

"Hey," Anna said. "Did I wake you? I wondered where you were, since no one's seen you for a few days, and, well, I was a little bored, I mean, I can't go outside or anything and are you alright?"

Elsa was staring blankly, seemingly at nothing, and hadn't moved throughout Anna's whole mangled explanation.

"Elsa!" Anna snapped her fingers, finally catching her sister's attention.

Elsa looked up at her, eyes a bit wild and disorientated. "What?"

"Are you alright? You look a little . . . I don't know, spacey. Are you sick? Or still asleep?"

Elsa drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She rested her chin on her knees, and her eyes strayed towards the window again. The sky was growing blacker, and the wind and snow had not abated. She didn't answer.

Anna tapped her foot impatiently. "Elsa!"

Once again, Elsa started as though surprised, and dragged her gaze from the storm to her sister. "Anna?"

"I've been here nearly five minutes now, are you alright? Because you're acting like you're still asleep. And you look a little asleep. Also pale." Anna would have kept on going but Elsa finally interrupted her.

"I'm fine." She squirmed a little, as though trying to get comfortable.

Anna waited for the rest of the explanation.

Elsa did not provide one.

"I know you didn't eat supper, are you hungry? We could go and-"

"No."

Anna stopped talking. Elsa's voice had turned steely. Anna frowned slightly.

"I can't. Go. Anywhere." Elsa shifted again, clearly trying to move away from some sort of invisible discomfort.

Anna had a depressing sense of déjà vu. "What do you mean . . . You can go anywhere. Elsa, you don't have to stay here, we can-"

"No," slightly more definitive this time, and Elsa turned icy eyes to Anna. "Don't push this, Anna."

Anna deflated slightly. "Can you at least tell me why?"

There was a long pause, in which Anna tried to stand still, and Elsa fidgeted again, then hugged her arms around her legs tighter, trying to hold herself still. Eventually, the Queen sighed. "I can't go anywhere while this storm is going on."

"Neither can anyone else, that's why the castle's been locked for two days."

"No," Elsa squeezed her eyes shut. "I can't leave my room. My powers, I can't . . . it's just . . ." She tightened her hands, curling into herself a little more.

"But you've got that all under control," Anna said breezily. "We can get chocolate and-"

"Please leave, Anna."

"Wait, what?" Anna gaped. "No. I don't want to. You're got this under control, I know you have."

"It's not _me_!" Elsa snapped suddenly, and the storm outside ceased for a moment, then started up again. It didn't make Elsa sound particularly convincing. She glared at the window, then gave a defeated sigh. "When it's like this, all stormy and out of control, it feels the same inside me. Everything feels different, and I don't know if my powers will do what I want. Please, Anna, just leave me alone for a while. Just until the storm stops."

Anna took a small step back. "Oh. Okay. I understand. Um, do you want me to get you anything? You haven't eaten since yesterday."

But Elsa shook her head again. "No, I'm fine."

"I'll leave you alone, then," Anna said uncertainly. She rocked back and forth on her toes, torn between staying to comfort her sister (and because she was bored and lonely and worried about Kristoff) and leaving because the last few times she'd pushed Elsa's self-control had not ended well. (Frozen city, frozen heart, that sort of mundane thing)

Elsa was staring out the window again, her eyes slightly glassy.

Anna chose that as a cue to leave, and snuck carefully from the room, pulling the door closed behind her. She rested her forehead on the wood for a moment, wondering what to do next.

* * *

The wind howled; the castle seemed to shake.

Elsa buried herself under the blankets again, arms wrapped around her stomach, and curled into a ball in a futile attempt to block out the storm inside, and block in the storm inside.

Mid-winter was always hard. The last few years, Elsa had just assumed she was sick, since her insides churned in time with the wind outside, and so many people fell sick during this time of year. She hadn't connected the swell of her powers with the weather outside.

Until this year, of course.

Her first clue had been the first storm Arendelle had in the summer. She chalked that one up to the excitement (not the good kind) of running away across the frozen fjord. She had assumed the butterflies in her stomach were from finally being free. She assumed the cyclone whirling in her stomach was exhilaration from building a palace all on her own.

Then Anna had come visiting, and the next little storm had caused the same feeling in her. Feeling like a blizzard was raging through her middle, and snow was sheeting through her lungs. Again, she had considered herself a little over excited, so much so that she had managed to freeze Anna's heart.

And the third time (in a very short amount of time, in retrospect she was surprised she hadn't passed out from the feeling. Well, she supposed she had passed out, but from giant falling chandeliers, and not from the fact that her insides were apparently a hurricane) she had been so overwhelmed that it seemed like a perfectly normal feeling: absolute sickening nausea that peaked and swirled in time with the air and snow around her, and spiked icy fear into her heart.

And it had stopped, very suddenly, when Hans had told her that Anna was dead. Since then, since that time of _complete despair_, that feeling had not returned.

Until now. Elsa whimpered a little in her fortress of blankets, wishing it would stop. The storm outside and the storm inside were in a battle to see which was strongest. Elsa swallowed hard, trying to block out the feeling.

_Conceal, don't feel. Don't feel. __**Don't feel**_**.** It wasn't working, she could feel everything. Frigid wind swirling in her lungs, a blizzard alive in her stomach, heavy ice settled everywhere else inside her body, and the whole lot of it churning around.

Elsa was pretty sure she was going to vomit snow if this storm got any worse.

And she had been battling this agony for two days. Two days of lying in bed, trying not to move because that made it worse, trying to pretend the storm wasn't there. But it was, and it was a part of her, and she was going to be sick, wasn't she, because she hadn't ever felt this bad before and, _oh god_, it's because she was actually embracing her powers and she was making it worse and it couldn't get any worse, could it, because-

Elsa's silent ramble was interrupted by another knock at the door.

"It's me again," she heard Anna's voice. "I know I only just left, like, a few hours ago, but there's nothing to do and can I come in?"

Elsa's reply was a groan, muffled into her pillow.

Anna, bless her lack of social skills, came in anyway, closing the door and padding softly to Elsa's side. "You look awful. Would it help if I closed the curtains so you can't see the storm?"

_Would it help if I shot you in the head with ice so you didn't bother me when I'm trying to suffer in agony in peace?_

Anna closed the curtains without waiting for an answer, then promptly slid into bed next to Elsa.

The Snow Queen nearly had a heart attack when she felt Anna slide against her, but the pillow muffled her undignified shriek.

"You're shaking," Anna observed, settling against Elsa's back.

The only thing going through Elsa's mind was _don't touch me, please, I'll hurt you, please, just go-_

Anna wrapped one arm around her trembling sister, ignoring how she almost convulsed out the bed at the contact. "I'll stay here tonight, if you need me to."

Elsa shook her head, but Anna had already closed her eyes and didn't see it. She was acutely aware of Anna's arm around her, and she balled her hands into tight fists, lest any magic escape them in the night and give her sister frostbite.

Funny, though . . . Elsa was feeling a little less nauseated. Anna's soft breathing on her neck gave her something else to think about. The storm inside lessened, just enough to let Elsa close her eyes, too, and relax a fraction. Anna was warm behind her, and her warmth seemed to be melting the snow settling in Elsa's gut.

She didn't sleep well that night, but it was better than the night she had before.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Unexpected news

**First off, thanks for the follows, favs and reviews. They are much appreciated. Kristoff is home, and bringing with some bad news for Arendelle.**

Anna didn't expect Elsa to still be there when she woke up. Mostly because Elsa was still getting used to human contact, and every other time she'd fallen asleep behind her sister Elsa had crept away in the middle of the night to hyperventilate and escape somewhere where there were no other people.

So it came as a surprise when Anna opened her eyes and saw blonde hair still in front of her. She was even more surprised to find that Elsa felt quite warm. The storm outside could still be heard, and Anna had a brief moment of panic – Kristoff! – before smiling at the fact that Elsa was still there.

And very warm.

Anna's sleep addled brain finally began ticking, and she rubbed her eyes. "Elsa? Are you okay?" She rested a hand on her sister's shoulder, surprised when the pale skin felt warmer than Anna's hand. She shifted her hand to Elsa's forehead, and that made Elsa's eyes flicker and open, her face scrunching in annoyance at the contact.

"You're blazing hot," Anna drew her hand back. "Do you have a fever?"

Elsa hoped the royalty of Arendelle was never overthrown, because Anna clearly didn't have a future in medicine. She mumbled something, then closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

Anna clapped her hand to her own forehead to try comparing temperatures. She was pretty sure Elsa was warmer. "Has this happened before? Is it the storm? Should I get someone? I'm going to get someone. Stay here."

Elsa opened her eyes again at that unnecessary statement. She couldn't have got up even if she wanted to; her insides were still swirling around and threatening to leave her if she so much as blinked. Even Anna launching herself off the bed made Elsa gulp, and clench her jaw, determined not to throw up snow.

She didn't know if she would or not, but didn't really want to risk it.

Anna bolted downstairs, hoping to find Kai or Gerda, who at least were a bit more familiar with Elsa's seasonal fluctuations that Anna herself. She found Kai at the bottom of the stairs when she rounded the corner too fast and barrelled right into him.

The old man grunted, and nearly dropped the book he had been carrying. With everything in Arendelle closed due to the storm, he had been taking an impromptu holiday. Seeing as the weather appeared to be set for today as well, he had woken up at a leisurely time, and was preparing to spend the day reading and avoiding energetic princesses.

Not going so well, then, hey?

"Good morning, Princess," he tried to walk around her, but Anna latched onto his arm.

"Hey, Elsa's sick, like, really sick, with a fever and everything. Come on." She tugged at his arm.

Kai sighed, and allowed himself to be dragged up the stairs towards Elsa's room. He seriously doubted the Queen was in any sort of danger, Anna tended to be an over reactor. Then he remembered a winter, many years ago, when tiny little Elsa had almost starved herself to death because she said her powers wouldn't let her get out of bed.

He remembered her blonde hair sticking up from under her duvet, and the storm raging outside. She felt sick, she said, too sick to move. Ever again. She was going to just lie here because her body was churning. That had lasted until the storm had stopped.

Arendelle hadn't seen a storm this bad in years, and the knowledge of this made Kai hurry a little faster.

Anna let herself back into Elsa's room quietly, announcing herself in a more subdued manner than usual. "Elsa? I brought Kai."

Kai knelt down at Elsa's head. She had her eyes resolutely shut, her body trembling occasionally. He gently felt her forehead, and Anna saw a look of worry flicker over his face. "My Queen? How are you feeling?"

Elsa's answer was to open one eye to glare at him.

"I know it's because of the storm, but have you ever got a fever at the same time?"

"No," she whispered.

"Is that good or bad?" Anna asked, hovering over Elsa.

Kai straightened. "This. . . um . . ." he seemed to be struggling for words.

"Agonizing gut wrenching discomfort," Elsa supplied.

"Of course. This is probably magic related, it happens every year in mid-winter."

"It does?" Anna sounded surprised, but then it occurred to her that she hadn't really seen Elsa much in the middle of winter for over a decade. Would she even know if Elsa always got sick in blizzards?

"But the fever is different," Kai continued. "I think that's just normal people illness."

Anna and Elsa both sent him a look.

"Normal?" Anna echoed.

"I'll get the doctor," Kai said briskly.

"Don't want a doctor," Elsa muttered, sounding incredibly petulant. "I'm fine." Apparently Elsa's power manifested in complete denial as well as ice.

"You've been in bed for two days," Anna pointed out. "At least take something for the fever."

Elsa flicked her fingers, and a flurry of snowflakes burst over her head and started settling down on her skin. "There. Go away."

"You're really grumpy when you're sick," Anna sat on the bed next to Elsa, causing her sister to groan a little as the rocking of the mattress made her feel like someone was taking her lungs and making origami shapes out of them. "Kai will fetch the doctor, and we'll make you feel better. And your snowflakes have melted."

Elsa sighed. "Fine. Then you have to go. I don't want to hurt you."

"I'll go once the doctor's seen you." It did occur to Anna that it might be challenging for the doctor to see Elsa at all, since the queen was fixed determinedly into a ball shape and hidden under three or four blankets. But she felt it best not to bring it up just then.

* * *

While Elsa pouted at the doctor ("I'm _fine_, this happens _every_ year, what good could you possibly do? Your hands are cold." The irony.) Anna bundled herself up in many layers of warm clothes and sauntered out of the castle into the blizzard.

Bad weather had never kept her indoors before, and she wanted to go down to the docks and ask the coast guard how long this storm was expected to last. And stare blankly at the horizon wondering where Kristoff was.

After nearly freezing herself to death (a remarkably common occurrence in her life) Anna shivered her way back into the castle and flung her outer layer(s) of clothes off into a sodden, snowy heap in the door way. She blew into her hands, and was relieved to find that all her fingers were still there, then started her way up to Elsa's room.

Elsa was sitting up again, still with her knees drawn up to her chest, looking at the window and taking steady, measured breaths. She didn't turn her head when Anna burst into the room.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Anna jumped up and down for a bit to try warming herself up. "So, I went to the coast guard-"

"In this weather?" Elsa jerked her head up, turning disbelieving eyes to Anna.

"I wasn't out for long, just wanted to see how long the storm would last. Anyway, what did the doctor say? Or do? And the storm is probably only going to last for another two days."

"Two days?" Elsa groaned, dropping her head back onto her knees. "I can't do this for another two days."

"You're looking a bit better."

"Hm," Elsa shifted a little. Why couldn't she get comfortable? "The doctor said the fever is probably not important, and he said something about eating before I starved myself, and left a painkiller. Not as good as he made it out to be, I still can't get comfortable."

"You still haven't eaten anything?" Anna exclaimed. "I'll get you something. What do you want?"

"Anna, there mere thought of eating makes me want to throw up."

"That's because you haven't eaten anything. Wait here, I'll be right back."

'_Wait here?'_ Where on earth did Anna think she was going to go? The only way Elsa was moving from her bed was if someone picked her up and carried her away. Elsa resigned herself to throwing up later in the day and waited patiently for Anna to return.

* * *

Anna sprinted towards the kitchen, but a movement outside the window caught her eye and she backpedalled a bit. There was a shape moving through the blizzard, towards the castle. Anna jumped, hands clapping together, "Kristoff!"

She detoured to the front doors instead (devoid of her winter clothes, and realising that immediately upon opening the door and nearly freezing on the spot) and yelled fruitlessly into the wind, "Kristoff!"

A snow-encrusted figure slowly made its way towards her, braced against the gale. Anna waved him inside enthusiastically.

Kristoff let out an audible sigh of relief as he entered the castle, and began shedding frozen layers of clothing. "Hi."

"Are you alright? Did you get caught in the blizzard?"

"Sven and I were already sheltering when it started. We've been moving a little bit each day. He's in the stables now. Are you sure it's alright for me to be here?"

Kristoff was still uneasy about life inside a castle. And around royalty. And imposing older sisters who could freeze him to death with a mere glare if she wanted. He cleared his throat a little, and rubbed a hand against the back of his neck.

"Yeah, its fine, Elsa doesn't mind."

"Good. Because I saw kinda saw something while I was out there which I think she should know about."

"What?" Anna actually stopped moving for a few moments. "Something bad?"

"I don't know. It seemed a little strange." Kristoff absently brushed more snow off his clothes. "There are quite a few ships out in the harbour. Or, just outside the harbour. Since the weather is so bad, I wondered what they were doing there. They didn't look like Arendelle's ships."

Anna paused. "There's a fleet of foreign ships approaching?" She chewed her bottom lip for a second. "Maybe Elsa is expecting them. Come with me," she grabbed Kristoff's hand.

"Me?" he dragged reluctantly behind her. He and Elsa had spoken very little since the Great Freeze, and to be honest, he wasn't sure what he thought of her.

Anna wasn't listening; she dragged him up the stairs and to Elsa's room, using the sound of her body ramming into the door as a substitute for knocking. "Hey, Elsa. Kristoff has something important to tell you."

There was a brief moment wherein Elsa had a minor panic attack, remembering the last time Anna insisted a man had to speak to her, before she got a hold of herself and remembered to breathe.

Kristoff looked incredibly uncomfortable, hovering in the doorway. His eyes darted around the room, looking everywhere but at Elsa. He'd seen her at her worst before, but quite frankly she looked perfectly unroyal right now.

Her hair was loose and unbrushed, and the light blue night dress she was wearing looked a little big for her. One shoulder had slipped down, and she looked bony and pale. She didn't try to untangle herself from how she was sitting. She just eyed him suspiciously.

"There's a fleet of ships just outside the harbour," he said without preamble. Unlike Anna, he could get to the point.

"What?" Elsa sat up a little straighter. "Ships from where?"

"It's a little hard to tell in this weather." Kristoff admitted.

Elsa took a second to think. Then, she let go of her knees and started unfolding her legs. "Anna, help me up."

"Why?"

"Because," she winced as she straightened, all her muscles protesting, "I am the Queen and have to ensure the safety of my country."

"It's storming."

"I still have to keep them safe, even in a storm," Elsa waved a hand around until Anna came and stood next to her to provide a shoulder to hang onto.

"Should you be getting up? You look a bit unsteady." Anna grasped Elsa's elbow as her sister nearly landed back on the bed.

"I'm fine. I have things to do. Don't move until the room stops spinning."

Anna remained still. "This is clearly a good idea."

"Kristoff, thank you for your message," Elsa aimed a nod in his general direction; her vision was a little blurry, but she just pointed her gratitude at the Kristoff in the middle of the field of Kristoffs. "Please, feel free to stay here until the storm is over."

Kristoff assumed that was a dismissal. "Uh, thanks. I'll be with Sven for a bit, making sure he's comfortable."

Anna nodded. "I'll catch up to you later. Where are we going, Elsa?"

"Don't move." Elsa repeated, propped unsteadily against her sister. "Seriously, stop it."

"I haven't moved."

"You're spinning me."

"I'm still not moving."

"…Put me down."

"I haven't lifted you."

"Okay, here's plan B, put me back into bed and fetch Kai."

Anna shifted Elsa towards the bed again.

"No, wait!"

Anna froze. "Now what?"

"Don't move again. I think I'm going to be sick."

"Ew," Anna shoved Elsa back towards the bed and jumped aside.

Elsa landed face down, and the mattress was nice and soft. She mumbled something, and thankfully didn't vomit snow all over her bed.

"I'll get Kai," Anna edged away.

Elsa mumbled something else into the mattress. She heard Anna leave the room, and spent the next few minutes trying to get herself into a comfortable position. Just like the last two days, she couldn't find one, and she eventually settled for lying on her back, arms holding her stomach gingerly, shifting her feet through the blankets in an attempt to get some relief from the storm in her belly.

She was still squirming when Anna and Kai returned, and Kai raised an eyebrow at her. "Aren't you supposed to be resting?"

"I am," Elsa snapped. "But there are apparently strange ships outside the harbour, and I need you to go outside and see what they are doing there."

Kai gave the window a pointed look. "Go outside? In a blizzard? How bad is your fever, again?"

Elsa sent him a withering look. "This is important."

"It _might_ be important."

"Fine, then help me up," Elsa was ready for take two of getting out of bed and not passing out. She levered herself into a sitting position. "I'll go."

"In the blizzard?"

"The blizzard doesn't bother me." Elsa waved her arm at Anna again, and the red head sighed and went to Elsa's side to act as a post again. "And I won't freeze to death."

"I might," Anna squeaked, as Elsa's hand gripped her shoulder. "You're freezing."

"Make up your mind; you were complaining earlier that I was too hot. Tell the room to stop moving."

"I'm sure it'll listen to you, you are queen after all."

If Elsa didn't need her eyes closed to prevent herself from getting dizzier, she would have glared at Anna. As it was, a long silence stretched between them, until Elsa deemed it safe to open her eyes again. "Okay, take me to the docks."

"Seriously? You can't even stand up on your own. I'm not freezing to death just because you want to go for a walk to the ocean."

"I must insist that you remain in bed," Kai said. "It's not advisable to wander off in a storm when you have a fever."

"Five minutes," Elsa said. "Stop fawning over me for five minutes. Anna, start walking."

"Don't throw up on me," Anna warned and began walking cautiously towards the door. She could feel Kai's eyes burning into her back.

By the time she had dragged Elsa all the way to the front gates, Elsa had changed herself into her signature ice dress, which she had considered more appropriate attire for confronting foreign ships than a night dress with a damp spot from when she hadn't quite had her powers as under control as she had thought.

Anna paused. "Do I really have to go outside? Can't I at least put a coat on? Or three?"

Elsa straightened herself, not without effort, and stood unaided. "I've got this. Just wait here until I come back."

Anna nodded. "Don't get blown away. No seriously, you're tiny, the wind will carry you off."

Elsa ran her hands through her hair in an attempt to smooth it out, and then stepped outside into a blizzard which immediately sent her blonde locks flying in all directions. A waste of time, then, clearly.

* * *

If the weather man at the docks was surprised to see his Queen approaching in the midst of a massive snow storm he hid it well, opening the door to the little look out room and inviting her inside.

Elsa remained standing, leaning her back against the door, mostly because she was afraid if she sat down she wouldn't be able to get back up again. She didn't beat about the bush, "Do you know anything about the boats outside the harbour?"

"Yes, your majesty," the weather man took a sealed letter from his desk. "They sent a message earlier today. I was waiting for a break in the wind to deliver it." He handed it over to her.

Elsa took it, frowning when she recognised the seal of Weselton on the parchment. Why would they be writing? Or sending ships? Elsa thanked the weather man, and slowly took herself back to the castle.

Anna and Kai were waiting anxiously at the door. Anna immediately slipped an arm around Elsa's waist, feeling her sister lean heavily on her. Elsa held out the letter, "This is from Weselton, apparently."

Kai took it from her and carefully opened it. He skimmed through it, and the more he read the deeper his frown got.

"What does it say?" Anna asked, seeing as Elsa was slowly sinking against her side and didn't seem particularly awake anymore.

Kai's next sentence caught the Queen's attention, though. "Weselton is declaring war on Arendelle."

**Next chapter should be up in a day or so (Just gotta finish spell checking). Thanks for reading**

**SpicedGold**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Preventing a War

**As always, thanks for follows/ faves and reviews. :-D Enjoy**

"Wait, what?" Anna gaped. "War? On us?"

Elsa groaned, both from the news and from the fact that she was going to pass out, right now, in Anna's arms, because her whole body felt like it had had the castle dropped on it.

Anna immediately moved to the nearest bench and sat down, keeping Elsa propped up against her. "What does he say?"

"As soon as the storm passes, the fleet will attack."

"The storm is meant to finish in two days," Anna said, "There's no way we'll be ready to take on an army in two days. We've been pretty much in lock down since the storm started. What are we going to do?"

They both looked expectantly at Elsa, but she appeared to have passed out on Anna's shoulder with her hair looking very windswept. Anna shook her gently. "Elsa? Are you awake?"

No answer.

"Let's get her back to bed," Kai said. "Then we'll take a closer look at this letter."

Anna felt her heart flicker uncertainly at that. She certainly wasn't ready to take on responsibility for the whole of Arendelle – Elsa was queen for a reason. Because Anna just wasn't cut out for it.

Kai gathered Elsa into his arms, and Anna noticed the frown on his face deepen a little.

"What's wrong?" Anna followed him back to Elsa's room.

"She's lost weight, that's all." Kai was worried about the stress Elsa had been under lately. Since her coronation, she had been struggling to adjust to ruling a kingdom, getting to know her sister again, and take on the pressures of actually talking to people. Elsa might not want to spend the rest of her life alone, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't prefer it to being with crowds and strangers. Coupling that with the last few days, where she had hidden away containing her own storm inside herself and refusing to eat, she was pretty run down.

Anna knew he was right. Since the coronation, she had been galloping around Arendelle, exploring the mountains with Kristoff, trying her hand at ice harvesting (she had bruises on her butt for a week after falling), getting involved in everything and generally keeping busy. She had got a tan, gained muscle and learnt various outdoorsy activities.

Elsa had not done any of that. Anna could see it clearer now, with that ridiculous dress on, how Elsa was a little thinner, a little bonier, and a little paler. Anna read the letter from Weselton as she walked, wondering how on earth she was supposed to handle this.

Arendelle certainly wasn't prepared to go to war. Elsa clearly wasn't in any shape to do anything. Everyone was going to look to Anna.

What was she going to do?

* * *

"War?" Kristoff questioned, leaning on the windowsill and looking out over Arendelle. Bits of it, anyway, most of it was obscured by heavy clouds and snowfall.

Anna paced back and forth in Elsa's study, chewing on her lip. "Yes."

"Why?"

"Oh, you know, for nearly breaking his neck at the coronation, almost freezing him to death in a blizzard and a castle spewing icicles from the walls, nearly murdering two of his men, boycotting his country as a source of trade and generally pissing him off. Such is life."

"I see."

"He's attacking as soon as the storm clears."

"That explains why they were outside the harbour. They can't get in while the storm is still going on. And if they're right here, we can't avoid them or even lock them out."

"Exactly."

"Wasn't there any sort of warning? I mean, you don't just up and attack someone without reason."

"I don't know. Elsa handles all of that, he might have sent her a thousand letters on the subject and I wouldn't know." Anna clamped her hands against her cheeks. "We are not ready for a war."

Kai was out right now, trying to figure out how many men there were in the Arendelle army, what sort of weapons they had access to and what the defences of the city were like.

Elsa had conked out right after returning with the letter and hadn't woken since, leaving Anna to fidget the night away until now – late the next morning.

She spun around when there was a knock at the door. "Yes?"

"It's me, Princess Anna," Kai opened the door and stuck his head inside. "May I come in?"

"Of course," Anna reminded herself to relax. "Um . . . how did it go?"

Kai was still brushing snow from his hair. "We have no idea how many men there are from Weselton, because we don't know how many ships are out there. We can't set up defences until the storm passes, so we are basically sitting ducks."

"Great," Anna moaned. "And I didn't come up with anything brilliant either."

Elsa appeared in the doorway, holding the frame with one hand to steady herself. She looked tired, and wrung out from sleepless nights and lack of food and generally disagreeing with her body.

"Oh, Elsa," Anna immediately stepped towards her, "Why are you up? You should be resting, still."

"How many ships did you see, Kristoff?" Elsa's voice was quiet and tense, as though unused for a long time.

"A dozen, perhaps. But I couldn't be sure."

Elsa closed her eyes, doing a mental calculation in her head. She nodded very slightly.

"And they are attacking as soon as the storm passes," Anna added.

Elsa took another step into the room so that she could lean against the doorframe. She seemed to be thinking very hard. Finally, she asked Kai, "What are the city's food provisions like?"

Kai was clearly surprised by her question. "Uh . . . We had a good summer and have lots of food stores available. This winter has been relatively mild, so we're very well off for food. May I ask why?"

Elsa allowed a very small smile. "Tell everyone in Arendelle to prepare for two weeks of no work. Stock up food in homes, wood for fires. Everything they might need."

"Again, may I ask why?"

"There's only so much you can store on a ship. The longer Weselton waits in the harbour, the fewer provisions they will have for their own people. Then they will either have to surrender to us or go home before starving."

"Except for the fact that the storm should end tomorrow," Anna pointed out.

Elsa shook her head. "If the storm doesn't stop, Weselton can't attack."

"What do you . . . ooooh," Anna suddenly realised.

Elsa nodded. "Exactly. I'm not going to let this storm end."

* * *

"Elsa, wait," Anna caught up to her sister as Elsa staggered back to her room.

Elsa wasn't exactly hard to catch up to, she was moving slowly with a hand on the wall for support. She glanced at Anna, raising an eyebrow expectantly.

"Please don't do this," Anna said.

"Don't do what?" Elsa paused at her bedroom door.

"Prolong the storm."

"It's the best thing for Arendelle."

"But not for you. I've seen what this storm has done to you. Can you really cope for another two weeks?" Anna knew her voice was pleading, but she was worried for Elsa's health.

Elsa tried to smile reassuringly. "It's easier when it's my storm."

"Easier," Anna pointed out. "Not better. You can't do this to yourself for two weeks."

"Arendelle comes first."

"Not to me," Anna said stubbornly. "You come first to me. And I can't sit back and watch you punish yourself just because the Duke of Weselton is a dick. Elsa, you can't make this storm last."

"Yes, I can," Elsa said quietly.

"You'll kill yourself."

"No, I won't."

"Elsa, look at you," Anna pointed out. "You're pale and shaky, and you can't even stand up without holding onto something. You've had a fever for two days and every time the wind blows I can see you grimace because I know it hurts you."

"It's nothing I can't handle. I've been doing it for years."

"Not on _purpose_! You can't do this, it's not okay."

"Do you see another way?" Elsa challenged. "Do you see any way to protect this city, and all its innocent people, without using my powers? How do you want me to handle this? This is the only way. No one will get hurt."

"Except you."

"I'll be fine," Elsa smiled. "I'll have you."

* * *

"Your majesty, everything has been prepared." Kai bowed politely the next morning.

The storm outside was starting to die down.

Elsa had dragged herself out of bed and to her throne, stubborn as ever in her decision to protect Arendelle. Anna stood at her side, keeping an eye on her in case Elsa keeled over without warning.

"All the people have brought extra supplies, and are ready for another two weeks of storms. Provisions have been set to the outlying families. Everything is ready."

"Thank you," Elsa said, almost sounding like herself, except for the tired drag to her voice.

"The Weselton ships have not moved, but the wind is dying down and the snow has lessened." Kai paused. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"It seems like the best option, but I'm open for ideas." Elsa heaved herself to her feet.

Anna took a step towards her in case Elsa needed support, but Elsa held up a hand to keep her away. The Queen went slowly to the glass doors and unlatched them. Kai came to her side, holding the door open for Elsa to step out onto the balcony.

The wind nearly snatched the door away from Kai, and snow began blowing into the room.

Anna took a step back, trying to keep the frigid wind off her.

Elsa took a deep breath. "Are we all ready for this?"

"Ready if you are, my queen," Kai said, while Anna grunted and pouted.

Elsa flexed her fingers a little, and took a deep breath.

"Elsa, wait!" Anna jumped up next to her. "You can't do this!" The last few days were fixed in her mind, of Elsa unable to move due the storm inside her raging and roaring out of control, Elsa sitting completely still because moving meant pain, Elsa staring at the snow outside while the snow inside her swirled and burned. Anna couldn't watch her sister do that to herself for another two weeks. "I can't watch you do this."

"And I can't watch Arendelle fall," Elsa pointed out reasonably. "We are completely unprepared for an attack. And if I can use my powers to keep everyone _safe_, then I won't hesitate to do so."

That slight emphasis on the word 'safe' clued Anna in. _Oh. Right_. Elsa had spent her whole life trying to hide her powers and who she was. And when she had finally let it all out, she had frozen her sister's heart, plunged Arendelle into an unexpected winter and frozen the fjord. Now there was a chance to use her powers for others, for the _good_ of others.

Elsa had more than Arendelle's safety in mind here; she was on a personal mission to prove to herself that her powers weren't only a curse to her. They could be more than a disaster.

Anna twiddled her fingers uncertainly, eyes darting to the storm outside, and back to her sister. "Promise me, if it gets too hard on you, you'll make it stop."

Elsa smiled at her. "Of course. Now, please stand back. I don't want to hit you accidentally."

Anna shifted back a few steps, the pout returning to her face. She couldn't really get a good view from here, and Elsa's powers were too spectacular to miss.

Elsa raised her arms, letting out a breath as she did so. _Focus. Control it._

The wind started to pick up again, and the snow came harder. Anna heard the distinctive crackling sound of ice forming and, Elsa's warning forgotten, darted to her sister's side. The fjord and harbour started crawling with ice, solidifying into a thick sheet. Anna couldn't see the ships, they were hidden by the storm, and soon the ice extended further than she could see as well. The wind changed direction, aiming directly at them, drawing the snow in from the ocean.

"Why are you turning the storm this way?" Anna had to yell, even standing right next to Elsa, and squinting as the frigid air blasted into her eyes.

"To stop the ships from leaving," Elsa yelled back. "They'll use up all their supplies and have to surrender."

"Smart," Anna shouted. "I'm going inside now!"

Elsa narrowed her eyes, looking over the newly storming Arendelle. The storm in her belly quieted a little, and rose higher, into her chest. It was more comfortable there, more like a rush of adrenaline than a heaving sickness. It was harder to breath, the storm was cloying in its excitement, and Elsa could feel the excitement of her powers tingling in her fingertips, thrilled at finally being let free.

The relentless nausea of the last few days gave way to fluttery excitement and unreal dizziness. This was the same feeling she had had on the North Mountain, building her ice palace. It was much more welcome than trying to hide from the storm.

Elsa took unsteady steps back inside and Kai closed the doors again. There was snow piled into the throne room. Elsa wanted to get rid of it, but her hands were shaking so badly, and she felt unsteady on her feet.

Perhaps not. Anna was already making displeased faces, and it probably wouldn't help Elsa's case if she either made more snow instead of willing it away, or passed out from excitement. So she left it, and sank back into her throne gratefully. She wasn't sure how much longer she could remain upright.

Kai stood in front of her. "Now that you've sorted that out, please have something to eat."

Oh god, he wasn't serious was he? Elsa blinked at him, her thoughts still a little fuzzy. Eating didn't sound like a good idea, in fact, flopping face first onto her bed and sleeping for two weeks sounded peachy.

"Nap first," she decided, and missed it when Anna rolled her eyes.

"Fine, but I'm waking you up in a few hours and I will force feed you if I have to," Anna said stubbornly.

Elsa just nodded. "Fine. Kai, please send someone to the coast guard and tell him that any messages delivered by the Weselton fleet are to come to me immediately."

"Yes, your majesty," Kai gave a quick bow, then marched away, leaving Anna glaring at her sister.

Elsa didn't notice. She was too busy rubbing her eyes and wondering if this had been such a good plan after all. Her hands were still shaking, and they felt weird and strange. She could feel the storm settle in her chest, bobbing up and down uncomfortably.

But the feeling that the whole world was spinning had gone, so she was counting that as progress.

* * *

Anna fidgeted back and forth in her room, pacing and turning and generally not being still.

Kristoff was lounging on her bed, bare foot and restringing his lute. They had even left the door open, despite Elsa's orders.

("He's not allowed in your room, Anna, and I'm not joking about that."

"He's not a dog, Elsa, it'll be fine."

"No men. Ever. Not until you're married and forty. Not after the last one.")

But Elsa was asleep and looked like she would be for ages still, so Anna had dragged Kristoff out of his room, flailing in an attempt to grab everything he needed for his precious lute stringing, and hauled him upstairs to 'chat'.

After some 'chatting' with the door closed and lots of giggling and "Shh! She might hear us!" Kristoff had finally been allowed to resume his task and Anna had inspected herself in the mirror for ages, because if Elsa saw her with a hickie she'd flip her lid, and since the kingdom was already under a foot of snow, who knew what she'd do?

A string twanged, and Kristoff frowned at the discordant sound. He turned the peg a bit more, twanging and turning until the string sounded mostly right.

"What if she starves herself?" Anna's comment came from nowhere.

Kristoff didn't bother answering. He knew from experience that Anna would continue the conversation all by herself.

"I know it sounds a little extreme, but she's been a little . . . off . . . these last few days. She said that when she's controlling the storm it's better than when it just occurs naturally. And we did talk about that last night. And she told me that she's felt this way before, when she ran away."

Anna peered out the window, then resumed her pacing. "But we know she didn't eat anything while she away, either."

That had been bothering Anna ever since the coronation. Elsa had apparently been running on pure elation, and her incredibly well thought out plan of "Go back to Arendelle, Anna, and leave me up here on the mountain where I can be myself and starve to death" hadn't made Anna feel any better. Elsa might have magic inside her, but she also needed food.

"I'm going to wake her up," Anna spun on her heel and headed for the door.

"Thought you were letting her rest a few hours," Kristoff pointed out.

"Two days! She hasn't eaten in two days! She's in a _coma_, not sleeping! I'm going to wake her."

"Should I leave?"

Anna paused. "I suppose it doesn't matter. She won't see you."

"Best not take the risk," Kristoff gathered up his things. "I don't really want to anger her, seeing as she's frozen everything again, on purpose this time." He stood up.

"Come back tonight."

"What?" Kristoff blinked at her. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. Come back here tonight. After dark."

"Anna, we can't-"

"No one will know," Anna waved a hand dismissively. "Where's the harm?"

_Your sister could find out and kill me._ Kristoff nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll come back after dark. But only if Elsa's not around."

"Perfect," Anna chirped. She whirled out of the room. "See you later!"

* * *

Elsa was enjoying her sleep. Now that the storm outside was hers, she was feeling much more settled. It didn't feel like she was at war with her body and her powers. Now she was floating in a haze of semi-sleep, feeling light and fuzzy in her chest.

Her thoughts were muddled, but quiet, and she could hear the wind outside, and despite its howling, it was soothing to her.

"Hey, Elsa?"

Her sleep was interrupted by Anna yelling through the door.

"Are you still asleep?"

Elsa groaned. "Not anymore."

"Great!" Anna burst into the room. "I'm glad you're up."

Elsa kept her eyes closed, and tightened her hands into fists again. She was feeling a little unpredictable, and Anna had a tendency to throw confusing things at Elsa and expect her to just handle it.

"So, remember when you said you were going to eat something?"

"Not now," Elsa mumbled. "Maybe tomorrow."

"No, now," Anna tugged the blankets off her sister.

Elsa curled into a tighter ball.

"You can't hibernate!" Anna dumped all the blankets on the floor. "Come on, get up. Kai is going to flip if you don't eat something today."

"Anna, I can't. My stomach has been doing loops all day; the thought of food makes it worse."

"You need to be strong and healthy to make raging snowstorms," Anna pointed out. "Anyway, it doesn't have to be food. Want some ice cream? Chocolate? Sandwich, perhaps?"

Elsa cracked one eye open. "Or nothing."

"Come on, get up." Anna shook Elsa by the shoulder. "A walk will do you good."

"Why don't we put _your_ guts in a blender and then see how much you want to walk around?"

"You're exaggerating," Anna tugged her sister upright. "There! Come on, let's find you some food."

Elsa wobbled on her feet, and quickly slung an arm around Anna's shoulders. "This is ridiculous."

"So is hibernating when winter is your 'thing'." Anna started walking determinedly out of the room, meaning Elsa had to either go with her or get dropped on the floor. "So, the storm seems to be going well."

Elsa didn't bother to answer that.

"I have to ask . . . was there any sort of warning that Weselton was going to attack?"

"Hm?"

Anna shrugged. "It's just . . . it seems a little unexpected. I hope. Am I wrong?"

"Not exactly." Elsa sighed. "I did get a few letters from the Duke of Weselton following my coronation. Mostly complaining, but nothing to indicate an actual attack. I assumed it wasn't that important. Arendelle hasn't had a war in years, so it didn't occur to me." Elsa paused. "Do you think it's my fault?"

"What? No!" Anna exclaimed. "How could you even think that?"

"It sort of is. Everything would have been fine if I had just stayed calm." Or if Anna hadn't dropped a bombshell on Elsa by announcing her marriage to a complete stranger.

"Elsa, it's not your fault. And you're trying your best to solve this problem without anyone getting hurt." Anna patted Elsa on the back. "Now, sit down."

Anna deposited Elsa in a chair at the small kitchen table. It was usually used to prepare food, but no one was around and Anna didn't really want to leave Elsa alone.

"Want some tea?" Anna asked.

"I guess." Elsa propped her elbows on the table and rested her face in her hands. "Am I a terrible person?"

"No. How can you even suggest that?"

Elsa shrugged. "Using my powers to . . . get my way."

"To save everyone," Anna corrected firmly. "To prevent a war. To keep our people safe. To stop our city from being savaged. And in doing so you're hurting yourself. That's selfless and kind. Or very stupid."

Anna set a mug of tea down in front of Elsa, and sat next to her with her own mug.

Elsa wanted to question when tea started being served in mugs and not tea cups, but she was too tired to bother. She stared at the steam curling off the top for a while, her eyes feeling heavy.

Anna chattered away beside her, telling her about Kristoff, and the last few things they had done together (excluding earlier that day, of course) and what had happened the last time they went to visit Kristoff's family.

Elsa heard most of it through a haze of . . . something. Her head felt fuzzy and cloudy, and she was regretting letting Anna drag her all the way down to the kitchen. Her bed seemed a very long way away. Perhaps she could just rest her head on the table for a while . . .

Elsa folded her arms and used them as a pillow.

"Elsa?" Anna nudged her gently. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Just resting." Elsa mumbled, but she couldn't open her eyes anymore.

Anna laid a hand softly on her back, and spoke gently. "I'm going to fetch Kai to take you back to bed, okay?"

Elsa nodded. Bed sounded good. Sleep was even better. Elsa heard Anna leaving, but after that things became a little distant and quiet, and by the time Anna and Kai returned, Elsa was asleep again.

**Thanks for reading. Things start getting a bit more intense in the next few chapters, provided work doesn't take over my entire life. **

**SpicedGold**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Negotiations

**And now things get a bit more exciting (I hope) as Weselton calls a meeting to negotiate. Enjoy.**

Kristoff battled his way to the coast guard to see if there were any messages from the Weselton fleet. Anna had been all set to come with, but he had convinced her to stay in the same place she had been for nearly a week: at Elsa's bedside.

Elsa's fever had got slightly worse, and no one knew if it was related to the storm she was sustaining or not. She roused herself every day to renew the storm, then flopped back into bed and drifted off in a slightly feverish haze.

The coast guard saw Kristoff coming, and had the door open, letting the Ice Master in.

"How is everyone handling the storm?" Kristoff asked, brushing the snow from his eyes.

"It's been hard getting around, but none of the ships outside the harbour have moved," the coast guard replied. "How is Queen Elsa? She didn't look so well when she came to see me."

"She's alright. Anna's been staying with her. Any news from the ships?" Kristoff asked.

"A message came through this morning." The coast guard retrieved it from his tiny desk. "I was waiting for my messenger boy to return from his last errand. Will this storm really last another week?"

"Depends on what this letter says," Kristoff admitted. "I should get back to the castle. Let me know if you hear anything else."

"Of course." The coast guard tipped his hat, and Kristoff stepped back out into the blizzard.

He trudged back into the castle, decorated as a large snowman, not unlike how he looked the day Anna had met him. The castle staff let him in without question, and he plodded upstairs to find Anna.

She was, of course, in Elsa's room, sitting next to the bed reading a book with her feet propped up on some concealed part of Elsa. Her face broke into a smile when she saw him. "Hey. You're back."

"Got a message," Kristoff dug the letter from his pocket. "How is she?" He nodded to Elsa.

"Her fever broke," Anna sounded relieved. "So, hopefully back on the road to recovery." She opened the letter and skimmed through it. "Oh."

"What?" Kristoff peered at the letter. "Good news or bad?"

"Hard to tell." Anna made a face. "They know it's us making the storm last. They're requested a meeting. To talk." Anna quickly lifted her feet off of Elsa as the queen started to move. "Are you awake? There's a letter here from Weselton."

Elsa blinked a bit, then manoeuvred into a sitting position. The half of her fringe that she had been lying on was sticking up rather interestingly. She rubbed her eyes, then scrubbed a hand through her hair, as though that would help.

It didn't really, it just made more hair stand on end. She sent Kristoff a look. "What are you doing in here?"

"Sorry," Kristoff backed out of the room. "I'll go wait downstairs."

"Don't be mean to my boyfriend," Anna handed the letter to Elsa.

Elsa just sighed, rubbing her eyes with her hand again, then taking the letter. She had to squint a little, since her vision was still unfocused and rather blurry. It took her a while to sift through the double letters and figure out which ones were there and which ones weren't.

"A meeting?"

"Seems like it," Anna said.

"Just with me."

"Yep. Do you think it's safe?"

Elsa handed the letter back to Anna. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Because there's a fleet of ships waiting to attack."

"It states quite clearly in the letter that no ships will be moved during the meeting." Elsa yawned. "I should get ready."

"For what?"

"The Head of the Weselton army wants to talk to me," Elsa said slowly, as though Anna was the one struggling to understand basic, everyday things. "We're meeting on their ship. Well, I am. You are staying right here."

"You can't go by yourself," Anna looked aghast. "What if you collapse?"

"I'm feeling much better," Elsa assured her. Now that the fever was gone, all that was left was the storm in her chest, and she had become used to it now. The last week had been rocky and unsettling, with the fluctuations in the weather causing her heart to flutter or pound. But Elsa felt strangely peaceful today. She and the storm were obviously reaching an agreement.

Anna didn't look happy. "So, the first thing you're going to do after being bed for a week and a half is to march across a frozen fjord for a meeting with someone declaring war on your country?"

Elsa fidgeted with her hair. "Yes."

"Oh, come on! That doesn't sound safe!"

"I'll be fine," Elsa said. "I've got this under control." Elsa made a pointed effort to get out of bed alone.

Anna hovered, half of her wanting Elsa to fix this mess with Weselton and return everything to normal, and the other half of her wanting to shove Elsa back onto the bed and yell 'aha! I knew you couldn't get up! Stay put until you feel better!' "Shouldn't you send someone else?"

"They asked for me specifically."

"But can't you just say you're too busy, and send someone else?"

"No." Elsa would never admit it out loud, but she was a bit of a control freak. She didn't want anyone else to go negotiate, because quite frankly she didn't think they'd do the job as well as she would. She was fairly certain this would be a problem later in life.

Elsa closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. As she exhaled, the wind outside died down a bit, and the battering against the castle lessened.

"I really don't like this," Anna said. "You're not well enough to negotiate."

"Anna, the future of our country might be riding on this conversation. So far we've managed to avoid bloodshed in the face of war; I would like that to continue. I understand why you're worried, but the cold isn't going to harm me, and neither will anyone on those ships."

Anna shrugged. "I know, but-"

"See," Elsa smirked. "I'm excellent at negotiating."

It took Anna a second to get it. "Hey! Are you manipulating me?"

"I'm doing my job," Elsa replied calmly. A quick gesture of her hands formed her ice dress around her body. Taking control of the situation was already making her feel better, and the storm outside simmered down a little more.

"If you take longer than an hour, I'm coming after you," Anna warned, following Elsa's path down to the front doors. "Even in the storm."

"I'll slow it down," Elsa said patiently. Truth be told, she was fed up with the storm inside of her, and the thought of doing something to take her mind off it was thrilling. Even if she was negotiating the peace of her country.

Kai was standing in front of the door looking even more displeased than Anna. Kristoff must have tipped him off. "Someone else should be going."

Elsa opened her mouth to reply, but Anna beat her to it.

"She's the _Queen_," Anna said snidely.

Elsa sent her a slightly exasperated look. "You're correct. I am the Queen."

"And you never let us forget it," Anna rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'm already timing. Your hour starts now."

"Do you want the guards to accompany you to the docks?" Kai asked.

"We're already understaffed due to the weather, there's no need for them to follow me." Elsa glanced at Anna. "Stay safe."

"When have I ever done otherwise?" Anna asked innocently.

Elsa didn't bother replying, but she did raise an eyebrow.

Kai opened the door for her. "Don't do anything stupid."

"What?" Elsa stepped outside, and the storm parted around her, "Like freeze the whole city?"

* * *

There was nothing more than a light snow falling as Elsa reached the edge of the harbour. The coast guard pointed to the misty silhouettes of the ships.

"Your Majesty, they've been sitting there for the last week. The message came from the ship in front. Do you want me to accompany you to the ship?"

"No, that's not necessary." Elsa tucked some stray blonde hair behind her ear. "This won't take long."

Elsa conjured a few stairs to take her off the dock onto the surface of the frozen fjord. The ice didn't extend all the way to the ships, but she was confident that she could freeze her own path. She left a series of snowflake shapes on the ice as she walked, her train billowing out behind her.

The ice crackled as it thinned and Elsa could see the ocean water moving beneath. But she stepped forward self-assuredly, and each footfall solidified the water beneath her feet and held her up securely.

Now that the wind had stopped and the snow was falling gently around her, Elsa could see the ship clearly. The sails were down, and there were a few people watching her approach from the deck. The ice reached the ship before Elsa did, and the boarding ramp was dropped over the side.

Elsa waited at the bottom of the board, linking her fingers gently together in front of her.

A large, uniformed man came down to meet her. He hesitated before stepping onto the ice, and kept one hand very firmly on the ramp. He bowed politely. "Queen Elsa. My name is Captain Luka, I'm heading this fleet of ships."

Elsa nodded. "And what are they doing in my harbour?"

"They contain the army of Weselton. I'm sure you received the letter of war from the Duke."

"And I'm sure you spent the last few days wishing I hadn't." Elsa resisted the urge to cross her arms and glare.

Captain Luka gave another small bow. "Please, come aboard. So that we can continue to talk more comfortably." He gestured up the boarding ramp.

Elsa stepped past him, giving him a quick glance to check for weapons. He didn't appear to be carrying any. She felt ice push at the tips of her fingers, but she held it back. The storm in her chest, which had settled and almost vanished, suddenly flared again.

Captain Luka led her to a lavishly furnished room on the ship, and through the window Elsa could see Arendelle. That was comforting. At least she would know if the city spontaneously combusted or something.

She sat down on the couch, keeping her eyes out the window.

Captain Luka sat opposite her. "Would you care for some tea?"

"No, thank you," Elsa answered tightly. "I'm much more interested in this war."

"I'll get right to the point then. We are currently running low on supplies for our troops."

"Oh?" Elsa said innocently. "Why didn't you just go home?"

Captain Luka's expression was not amused, and he deadpanned, "The wind was against us."

"Huh."

"We wanted to discuss an alternative. To war."

"I'm all ears."

* * *

From the other side of the Weselton ship, a small group of about twenty men descended onto the ice. They were all heavily armed.

The team leader glanced back at the ship, checking exactly where the window of the cabin faced, and ensuring that his men moving across the ice could not be seen by anyone on the ship. Or, at the very least, anyone on the ship who was not from Weselton.

They moved swiftly, towards the unsuspecting city of Arendelle.

* * *

Anna had grown bored waiting for Elsa, and had abandoned her activity of staring blankly out the window in favour of dragging Kristoff up to her bedroom again. ("Now she really won't know; she's not even here!")

They weren't doing anything wrong, or even naughty. Kristoff was trying, unsuccessfully, to teach Anna how to actually use the lute, as an instrument and not a weapon of mass destruction. Anna just wasn't very coordinated, and holding strings down with one hand whilst plucking them with the other appeared to be an intangible skill to her.

"No, no, no!" Kristoff groaned. "Keep that hand still! The _other_ one is moving!"

"Can I turn it around?" Anna rotated the lute, "This hand stays still much easier."

"No! It's meant to be the other way!"

"Why?"

"Because I can't teach you upside down. Turn it the right way."

"You mean the wrong way." Anna plucked at the strings again, and managed to get one finger trapped beneath them. "Woops."

Kristoff let his face fall into his hands. "How can you have never played a lute before? Didn't you say you sent years by yourself? You must have had some hobbies."

"I was talking to people," Anna replied, slightly smugly.

"What people?"

"The ones in the paintings."

There was a strange silence that followed, while Anna extracted her finger, and Kristoff questioned his taste in women. Maybe he just needed a break.

"I'm going to check on Sven."

"Right now?" Anna questioned, raising an eyebrow. Her finger came free with a twang.

"Yeah. We haven't spent much time together since the storm. He's probably a little lonely. And feeling cooped up. He's not usually inside so much."

"Okay," Anna waved a hand dismissively. "Go and play with your reindeer. I'll try to get the hang of this lute thing. If Elsa comes back, let me know."

"Don't hurt yourself."

"How can you hurt someone with a lute?" Anna wondered idly, apparently forgetting that she had concussed a wolf with one.

* * *

Sven brayed a greeting when Kristoff entered the royal stables. He pushed at the door, trying to get out.

"Hey, buddy," Kristoff smiled. "I know, you want to go outside. Well, there is a break in the blizzard. Come on, let's get some fresh air." He opened the stable door, and Sven bounded outside, leaving big hoof prints in the snow.

Kristoff sat down, his back against the stable wall, and watched Sven play. The reindeer bounced around, catching falling snowflakes on his tongue and galloping in circles. After a while, he tired, and came to flop down at Kristoff's side. Kristoff watched the sky, the grey clouds still snowing lightly, and rubbed Sven's ears.

The reindeer snuffled, pushing his nose into Kristoff's side and demanding attention. Kristoff leant against him, enjoying the feeling of thick fur against his neck, and the contented sound of Sven's breathing. They stayed like that for a while, until Sven suddenly raised his head and looked towards the harbour.

He snorted uncertainly.

"What's wrong, pal?" Kristoff asked.

Sven lurched to his feet, nearly toppling Kristoff into the snow, and grumbled worriedly.

Kristoff rose to his feet as well. The snow made it hard to see very far, but there were definitely people moving in the distance. That was strange; everyone had been staying safely indoors. Whoever was running towards the castle was certainly moving fast.

Sven snorted, and nudged Kristoff's arm.

"You're right," the ice harvester replied to an unspoken sentence. "Something doesn't seem right about this. Come on, let's check it out."

* * *

The Weselton men made it to the docks, undetected in the snowfall. The leader (let's call him Fluggard . . . I don't know why that sprang to mind, but we'll roll with it) looked around to ensure there was no one nearby.

Every one of his men were armed with a cross bow, with another one slung across their backs, swords on their hips, and a few carried spears as well. The team gathered, climbed off the frozen fjord and into Arendelle.

They began moving towards the castle, swiftly and quietly.

The gates were open, and unguarded, and the layer of snow on the ground helped to muffle the sound of foot falls. Fluggard's team were through the gates, and moving directly towards the castle, when something big and solid rammed into his side and knocked him off his feet.

Fluggard rolled away from his attacker, and leapt to his feet easily. The team fanned around him, and the clicking of cross bows being drawn played all around him. Every weapon was immediately trained on Sven, who fixed Fluggard with a glare.

"What's going on here?" Kristoff yelled, finally catching up to his runaway friend.

The answer was non-verbal; one of the Weselton men changed targets, and fired.

The arrow shot into Kristoff's arm, and he dropped to his knees with a very surprised and agonised yell of pain. Sven launched at the man who had fired, roaring his fury at seeing his friend hurt. His sudden movement surprised Fluggard, and the arrow he shot missed Sven and lodged harmlessly into the snow.

The next one did not.

Sven jabbed his antlers into two men, the tines were not sharp enough to pierce flesh, but the force of his charge certainly cracked a few ribs and knocked the wind out of both men. As Sven raised his head, turning on the next person closest to him, Fluggard's arrow sank into the reindeer's hide.

As did the next one, and the next one.

Kristoff, his own pain forgotten, stumbled to his feet. He was aware of someone screaming, "No! No!", and realised that was him.

Sven collapsed onto the ground, bawling, and the snow around him started changing from pristine white to bright red.

The remaining Weselton men continued towards the castle, moving faster now that the noise of a pained reindeer was resounding through the air. Someone was going to hear them, and Fluggard gestured to his men to run faster.

All cross bows were reloaded, and the men advanced on the castle.

Kristoff cradled Sven's head in his arms, aware of the biting pain in his arm, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. "Hang in there, buddy, stay with me. Sven! Sven, open your eyes."

The reindeer groaned and shuddered.

"I've got you, buddy. I've got you. It's alright, I'm here."

The blood was soaking into Kristoff's pants, he could feel the sudden warmth over the chill of snow.

"I'm here, boy. I'm here."

Kristoff barely even noticed his own blood running down his arm, he smoothed the hair on Sven's face tenderly, "Hold on, pal. Someone is coming. Someone will help you. Just stay with me."

Sven's eyes held onto Kirstoff's, and he could see the fear and pain in them. Sven whimpered, pushing his nose hopelessly against Kristoff. He thrashed once, feebly, then settled on his side again, and Kristoff could see the deer's eyes growing heavy.

"No! No, Sven, don't you dare close your eyes! Sven!"

There was the faint sound of a weapon being fired, far away, and then a scream resounded from the castle.

The snow fell softly around them.

**What an excellent place to stop! The next chapter is written, just needs to be spell checked, and should be up in a day or so, depending on how much work I have to do. Reviews are much appreciated.**

**Added note, apparently my paragraph breaks have not been working, hopefully they are now, because you miss some of the drama without them. (I'm kidding. It just makes the story seem a little . . . clumped. Oh well, everyone's a bit of a fixer-upper.)**

**SpicedGold**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Things start going awry

**So, I wrote this part really late at night, really fast, and really stressed (Long story, my horse was ill) so I apologize if there are any errors indicating a hasty writer. Also, it's a bit more action packed so I got excited. Enjoy.**

"The Duke of Weselton has a personal vendetta against me, there would be no reason to involve my entire city," Elsa pointed out sensibly.

"I agree with you," Luka said. "But I am under orders. Also, the Duke seemed to be convinced that you required, um, a bit more attention than other people."

Translation: he sent his entre army because a one-on-one with Elsa seemed dangerous. He wasn't wrong.

"Still seems like over kill to me," Elsa said. "If the Duke is so afraid of speaking to me face to face, he could have just sent you." Sending an entire army out to 'talk' didn't exactly inspire confidence, or hospitality.

"My army will not move without my orders, I assure you. You have nothing to fear from them while we are negotiating."

"Fine. What exactly is it that you want?"

"The Duke thought this was a good way to get your attention, and he wanted to be prepared for any sort of reciprocation from you."

He was afraid of her, clearly, but the fact was that Arendelle was a valuable trade partner, and Weselton didn't want to lose them. Elsa took a moment to stew over that. It still didn't add up that Weselton would send their entire army, just to talk.

From the way Luka was speaking, it sounded like war had never been the intent of the fleet at all. If that was true, why were they even here? Elsa had the uneasy feeling that the army was a distraction from something, and she wanted to know what it was.

She sent another glance out of the window, but Arendelle looked peaceful and calm. _Don't panic_, she reminded herself. _Everyone knows the Duke over reacts._ "So one of the things you wanted was to reinstate some of our trade agreements?"

She could not shake the feeling that this covering something else up, and she wanted to get home as soon as possible.

"Yes."

"Those contracts are back at the castle. If this meeting is to proceed, you should come to Arendelle with me." Elsa prepared to stand up.

Luka stopped her. "No need. There's no rush. I think we even have copies of those agreements on this ship. I will send someone to get them." He rose to his feet. "Please, stay where you are. Are you sure I can't get you anything?"

Elsa shifted uneasily. She felt trapped suddenly. "We'll need the original documents as well, just to make sure they are the same. We can move this meeting to the castle."

Elsa heard the lock on the door click, and the room suddenly felt much, much colder.

"I think the meeting is fine where it is," Luka said, stony faced. He was aware of the fact that he could suddenly see his breath misting in front of him. That was strange; it hadn't been that cold in here a minute ago.

Elsa stood up. "Unlock that door."

The snow outside started falling a bit harder.

"Please sit," Luka gestured to the couch again.

Elsa didn't move. She fixed her icy blue eyes on the Captain's face. "Open that door and let me out, right now."

"I can't do that."

"And just why not?"

"I'm under orders, as I told you before. I have to keep you here, out of Arendelle, until our mission is complete." Luka reached behind his seat, and drew a cross bow into view.

Oh, god, there was the storm again, flaring up in Elsa's belly. The ship creaked, rocked by a sudden gale outside, and Elsa felt ice crackle in her finger tips and throb in time with her suddenly racing heart.

"What mission?" she ventured, relieved to hear that her voice still sounded normal, despite the feeling that every part of her body was solid ice.

"I don't know all the steps." Luka hoisted the cross bow lazily, and aimed it at Elsa's chest. "But I know the one we are currently on."

_Breathe. Breathe. If you don't breathe you're going to pass out_, Elsa reminded herself.

"And that's to kill Princess Anna."

* * *

Anna realised something.

She didn't like lutes.

She extracted the instrument from her hand, then set it gently on the floor. She wanted to throw it down with as much force as possible, but she had already broken a newly replaced string, and didn't want to annoy Kristoff any further.

She sighed, slouching rather as she sat on her bed. What was taking Elsa so long, anyway? How long could it take to say "Go away and never come back, or I'll freeze you all"? Anna flopped onto her back, making a strangled sound of frustration at the back of her throat.

Winter might be Elsa's favourite season, but Anna found it thoroughly boring.

She hummed quietly, kicking her feet and wondering what she could do to occupy herself. "Why doesn't anything interesting ever happen around here?"

The sound of a loud thump made Anna sit upright with a frown. "What on earth was that?"

She hopped off the bed and went to the doorway, peering out into the hall. The castle was quiet, as it had been for the last week and a half. Then she heard the thump sound again, followed by a blood curdling scream.

Anna froze, a thousand possibilities running through her mind. Now she could hear shouting, and it sounded like Kai's voice.

"What do you think you're-" cut off mind sentence.

Anna ran downstairs.

* * *

It's a strange feeling when the world around you stops.

You suddenly feel like you are very far away from your own body, and everything sounds distant. Limbs tingle and feel disjointed from your body. And your heart drops through the floor, but you can still hear it pounding in your ears.

Elsa was getting sick of it, to be honest. And it always seemed to relate to Anna. She was still staring at Luka, unable to comprehend his last sentence. Unable to move. And forgetting to breathe.

Elsa finally sucked in a gulp of air, her eyes wide, and managed to finally articulate a thought. "What?" she squeaked. _Oh, well done, Elsa, well spoken. Very Queenly._

"It's my job to keep you here, while my team carries out their mission."

"You said your people wouldn't attack while I was here," Elsa said faintly.

"Are you really that naïve? Welcome to the real world, Queen Elsa. People lie." Luka nodded to the cross bow. "Now, please sit down. I don't want to use this, but I will if I have to."

Elsa stayed exactly where she was, not to be deliberately defiant, but because she was still catching up with the conversation. And gulping, because that feeling of throwing up snow was returning, and this really wasn't the time for it.

"Sit down," Luka repeated firmly.

Elsa took one step back, towards the couch. She felt it touch the back of her calves, and the urge to just flop over and collapse was very, very strong.

But not until Anna was safe.

A blast of furious ice shot from Elsa's hands, directly at Luka. He had incredibly fast reactions, and managed to actually fire the cross bow. The arrow lodged into the ice, held harmlessly. Elsa aimed another blast at him, knocking the cross bow from Luka's hands.

He dodged behind the seat he had been using, and grasped for another weapon. How many was he hiding back there?

Elsa flung her hands up, and raised a sheet of ice just as Luka's heavy sword swung down. It crashed against the ice, keeping her safe. While Luka tried to pry the sword from the wall of ice, Elsa darted to the locked door. A quick jiggle of the handle told her that the door was locked from the other side.

And Luka's enraged roar told her that she needed to blast through the door. Elsa fired a series of pointed icicles through the wood, and the door burst away from her. She took a step outside, onto the deck of the ship, and found herself surrounded.

Elsa stopped dead, chest heaving, trying to organise her muddled thoughts into some sort of useful plan. Her go-to move was 'run away' (and it had worked pretty well so far) but that didn't seem like an option right now. She refused to spear everyone with icicles, which left her with the option of-

Luka had his sword freed, and he swung it towards her back. The ice jutting through the floor luckily prevented him from getting too close to her, but the tip of the blade still connected to her shoulder, and sliced a long, crimson line from shoulder to spine.

Elsa screamed, she couldn't help it, and the very instant Luka's blade cut into her skin the storm outside roared back to life with gale force winds and cutting hail. Elsa staggered forward, feeling rapidly drying stickiness on her back. The cold was freezing her blood to her skin, the hail and snow swirling around made it almost impossible to see.

Elsa heard someone else screaming. She shielded her eyes with one hand, and found that her panic had caused a number or pointed spikes of ice to leap from the deck of the ship and cut into the people around her. Several ice spikes were tipped in blood, and the men around her were scattering and moving, yelling out to each other.

An arrow whizzed past Elsa's head, close enough to make her gasp and jump to the side. The force of the wind had, luckily, blown the arrow fractionally off course, or else it would have been embedded in her skull. Elsa's jumbled mind managed to get through to her, in fragments of disjointed panic – Arendelle – Anna – get home – get away

She ran for the boarding ramp. Every time her feet touched the wooden deck more spears of ice darted up, surrounding her and making it difficult for the Weselton army to attack or find clear shots.

It didn't stop them from trying, and one lucky arrow penetrated the icy wall forming around Elsa, and the tip scratched her cheek. The sharp sting made Elsa pause, draw in a quick, gasping breath, and then continue running.

The wind was too strong, it pushed her to the side, and the heavy snow made it difficult to see. The Weselton men were catching up to her, more able to overcome the force of the wind. Elsa finally found the boarding ramp, and careened down it.

She nearly slipped as she reached the frozen ocean, and the jump of her heart caused the ice under her feet to thicken and distort. Another arrow whizzed past her, frighteningly close. Elsa turned towards the ship again, trying desperately to unfreeze the ice so no one could follow her.

But her powers would not listen. Her breath was rasping in her throat, her heart was pounding almost as loudly as the wind, and the hail and snow was making her eyes water. She tried, _she tried_, to make the ice disappear but every time she moved it grew thicker and sharper.

And the Weselton army was coming down the ramp now; Elsa could see Luka at the head of the charge, with the sword in his hand.

That reminded Elsa that her back was stinging, and she felt like passing out – _No! Have to get to Anna!_ – and she had to keep running.

Every step closer to Arendelle hurt more; there was a tug against her back as the freshly frozen blood tightened on her skin, and oh, god, that hurt . . . she nearly stumbled again. _Get it together. Control it._

The ice flared behind her, making the path to Arendelle even more solid and safe for those following her. Elsa cursed, silently, because she didn't have the breath to spare to do it out loud. _Stupid powers, stupid ice, never ever listened!_

_Get it together. Focus._

Arendelle loomed closer, and Elsa was equal parts relieved and terrified.

* * *

Fluggard's team burst into the castle, and fanned out. "Find Princess Anna! Get rid of anyone who gets in the way! Hurry!"

One of the maids appeared in a nearby doorway, alerted by the noise. One of the Weselton men immediately fired his weapon at her, thankfully missing. The maid screamed, and turned and ran deeper into the castle.

Fluggard's team continued, systematically checking the rooms they passed for any sign of Anna.

Kai heard the commotion and ran from his room, finding himself in the middle of the team. "What do you think you're-"

He was struck from behind, a solid blow to the head, and collapsed in a heap on the floor.

"Upstairs," Fluggard ordered succinctly. He put one foot on the spiral staircase and looked up.

Anna froze in place, halfway down. She took in the sight before her, before settling on the brilliant idea to turn around and run back towards her room.

"After her!" Fluggard barked, continuing his pursuit up the stairs.

Anna raced back into her room, and slammed the door shut. She locked it with trembling hands, then took a few uncertain steps back. Now what?

She resisted the urge to run in circles like a panicked chicken, and instead ran to the window. She was alarmed to see that the sky was darkening again, and the storm, which had been idle, was beginning to rekindle itself.

Okay, that meant Elsa was obviously fine . . . or at least alive.

Anna squinted at another dark spot in the courtyard below. What was that? It was moving slightly. Was that Kristoff? And Sven?

The increasing snow made it impossible to see what was going on, but Anna was certain it was Kristoff and Sven down there. Why were they there? Why didn't they come up and help? Why hadn't they alerted the castle guards about the intruders?

Anna leapt forward when she heard pounding at her door. She spun to face it, completely unsure of what to do. She stared blankly at the door, listening to the ramming and pounding.

Jump out the window? Probably not a good plan.

Hide under the bed? A bit obvious. Also made escaping rather challenging.

Stand right next to the door, in the hopes that they would burst into the centre of the room and allow her a fraction of a second to escape?

It was all she had to work with. Anna ran to the door, and pressed her back against the wall, shoulder wedged against the door frame. She pressed her lips together, shoulders tense, trying to breathe a bit less loudly.

This might not have been the best plan.

The door lock splintered, and the door swung open. The two men pounding the door down did indeed rush into the centre of the room (Anna's poorly concocted plan was working!), but as Anna spun around the door frame to escape, she rammed face first into Fluggard.

He grabbed hold of her arm, jerking her back and glaring at her. Anna's terrified green eyes met his black and cold ones, and Anna felt her heart stop for a second, before starting up at a million miles a minute.

"You're dead, Princess," he snarled.

Anna gulped, then heard a commotion starting further down the hall. Someone was ploughing through Fluggard's team, armed only with brute strength, a spear and a lot of anger.

Kristoff swung the wooden end of the spear, cracking it into the skull of one man, then jabbing it directly into the throat of another. He rammed his shoulder into another, and Anna heard the disconcerting sound of cracking bone as the man was slammed into the wall.

Fluggard was momentarily thrown as one man suddenly decimated his team like a valiant pungent reindeer king. (Mental note: hell hath no fury like a man whose reindeer has been shot and whose girlfriend is being threatened). Kristoff took one look at Fluggard with his hand clenched around Anna's arm, and jabbed the spear forwards.

Fluggard flung Anna aside in order to dodge the attack. She stumbled back, and the two men in her room each grabbed a hold of her arms, and held her still.

Fluggard threw a punch at Kristoff, and hit him in the side of the head. Kristoff flailed the spear around, momentarily dazed, and Fluggard ripped the weapon from his hands and flung it aside. Kristoff threw a punch of his own, connecting with Fluggard's nose.

Anna heard a crack, and winced. "Ouch."

While Fluggard staggered, his nose streaming blood, Kristoff drew his fist back again.

But the men behind him were not all unconscious from his initial reckless charge. Two of them managed to their feet again, unseen by Kristoff.

"Kristoff look out!" Anna shouted.

He ducked instinctively, but one of the men brought his cross bow down on Kristoff's head. The ice harvester crumpled to his knees, and the second man slammed his head into the wall. Kristoff slumped into a senseless heap.

"No!" Anna kicked around uselessly, but she was held firmly. "Kristoff!"

Fluggard wiped at his nose, and advanced on her. He drew his sword.

Anna stopped struggling, feeling her breath catch in her throat. Her eyes were bright with absolute terror, she knew she was gasping for air, but no matter how much she gulped no air seemed to be reaching her lungs.

Fluggard hefted the sword casually. "Good bye, Princess."

**Reviews appreciated, will update soon, I promise, I won't leave you all hanging.**

**SpicedGold**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Now what?

**I'm back! Onwards with this thrilling saga:**

Elsa ran through the castle gates, cursing the wind, and the snow, and the ice, and everyone else.

She turned back towards the gates, and with a sharp wave of her arm closed the gap with a thick wall of ice. The castle was impregnable now, but the rest of Arendelle was still at the mercy of Weselton.

_One thing at a time_, Elsa reminded herself. _Get Anna first. Make sure she's safe. Then sort out the rest of the city._

She wasn't sure if she had her priorities straight as queen, but they were infallible as Anna's older sister.

She bolted into the castle, making a valiant attempt to yell "Anna!" What came out was actually a breathless squeak, but no one was around to hear it, so it didn't matter.

Elsa ran for the staircase, hesitating only slightly when she saw Kai groaning on the floor. A second of agonizing indecision passed before she ran to him first.

"Kai! Are you alright?"

He managed to sit up, clutching at his head. "We've been attacked."

"I know. I need to find Anna."

"Upstairs."

"Call for someone, put the city in lock down." Elsa threw that last command over her shoulder as she ran, leaving snowflakes all over the floor in her panic. Her legs were leaden as she reached the stairs, and where she grabbed the banister it froze immediately.

Elsa was beyond caring. She forced herself to keep running, ignoring the black spots appearing in her vision, and the fact that everything was getting rather blurry. Now was not the time to collapse; she wouldn't rest until Anna was safe.

Elsa tripped up the last step, and landed on her knees in a patch of ice, snowflakes sparking from around her hands. She lurched to her feet again, and wanted to call out to Anna, but her voice wouldn't cooperate, and instead she just thought louder.

_I'm coming, Anna. I'm coming._

* * *

Anna's heart was beating so hard it was about to hammer right through her ribs and fall on the floor.

She wanted to close her eyes, but no part of her body was listening anymore, and she couldn't tear her gaze away from the tip of Fluggard's sword, arcing away from her as he considered the best possible way to use it.

The childish part of Anna's brain wanted to wake up and find this was all a nightmare. But the blood looked real, and the fear was real, and the paralyzing terror was real. Nightmares have a sense of etherealness to them, but the situation right in front of her was unfolding with shocking clarity.

Anna couldn't gulp. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. She heard a little whimper escape from her, as Fluggard raised the sword with certainty.

He was about to swing it, when Anna heard another sound.

This was a small exclamation of all the terror Anna felt but hadn't been able to vocalize, followed by the familiar sound of crackling ice.

Fluggard turned at the sound, and the moment he moved Elsa panicked and encrusted the entire room with ice. It grasped at Fluggard's legs, holding him to the floor, then snaked its way up his body. He hacked at the ice with his sword, chipping away at it, but it rose higher until he was trapped up to his neck, immobilized and freezing.

Anna's sense of relief was incredibly short lived, as the two men holding her raised the cross bows they still had in their free hands, pointed them at Elsa, and fired.

Elsa's eyes snapped closed, her heart leapt into her throat and she tensed her whole body, hands raised to defend herself. One arrow hit the ice jumping up around her, and stilled with the tip embedded. The other sliced right through a thinner section of ice, and into Elsa's raised forearm, penetrating to the bone.

The shock and pain erased the very last of Elsa's self-control, and the next burst of ice was completely out of her control. Elsa felt something tighten in her chest, she felt the ice rise in her with no warning and against her will, and she opened her eyes again just in time to see jagged, pointed spikes leap from the floor and walls and impale the two men holding Anna.

She stared, unable to comprehend what she was seeing. They were both clearly dead, with points of ice jutting right through their bodies, through their limbs and torso's, and slowly turning red. For a moment, absolute silence descended.

Anna stayed where she was, panting, eyes wide, her whole body trembling.

Elsa felt the last few minutes catch up to her, saw the gore that she had caused - she killed two people! – and dropped to her knees. The movement sent another stab of pain through her arm, and she clenched her eyes shut, almost doubling over.

The next sound that escaped her was a sob, desperate and plaintive, then another one, until she was kneeling on the floor crying her eyes out, with blood running down her arm, and on her cheek and all down her back.

Anna stepped forwards cautiously, keeping her eyes on her sister. She saw Elsa's shoulders heave with another sob, and knelt very quietly at Elsa's side. "Elsa?"

A tearful squeak and another hiccupping sob was all the answer she got, and Elsa tried to curl herself into a ball, but there was still an arrow in her arm and everything felt wrong and painful.

Anna put an arm around Elsa's shoulders, then pulled her sister carefully towards her. She swallowed down her own tears. "I'm okay. You saved me. I'm fine."

"I killed two people!" Elsa wailed.

Anna swallowed again, her lip trembling at the effort of holding back her own sobbing. She had no words of comfort just yet. "You're okay, Elsa. I've got you."

* * *

After Kai, the member of staff most familiar and trusted by the sisters was Aaron. He was a serious, middle aged man with greying black hair, a little on the chubby side, but incredibly honest and trustworthy.

He was the one who stood now, at Elsa's side, as she sat almost catatonically in the conference room, surrounded by her advisors and other important Arendelle figures.

Kai was present, but nursing a splitting head ache, and he had requested Aaron be there.

A nurse was trying unsuccessfully to attend to Elsa, but she was sitting with her back resolutely against the back of her chair, and her arms folded across her stomach, hands tucked under her elbows. She was staring blankly ahead, her bottom lip occasionally trembling, which meant the only wound the nurse had access to was the least serious; the little cut on Elsa's cheek.

Anna sat across the table from Elsa, tapping her fingers on the wooden table top, and generally being restless. She was torn between staying with her sister and following Kristoff to the infirmary. She had chosen Elsa for now, mostly because Kristoff was unconscious and wouldn't know if she was there or not.

Aaron cleared his throat, and Anna saw Elsa jump at the sound. "Your majesty, I think we need to address this now."

Elsa pressed her lips together a bit harder.

"All the men involved in the attack on the castle are currently detained in the dungeons, and the rest are being guarded on their own ships. There's no danger of them leaving, because the fjord is still frozen."

Anna sent Elsa an uneasy glance. The Snow Queen had dried off her tears, but it was clear that she was barely holding it together.

"A message must be sent to Weselton at once, but we need to know what you would like it to say."

Anna didn't think Elsa was quite up to composition right now. She slumped in her seat. "I'll sort it out, Aaron."

Elsa looked up when she heard Anna's voice, looking startled, as though she had forgotten that there was anyone other than herself in the room.

"We also need to figure out exactly why this took place-"

"It's me, it's _always_ me," Elsa jumped out her seat and began pacing the room. "They have a problem with _me_." She pressed her fingers to her temples, and Kai finally saw the gash in her arm.

"Queen Elsa, get that seen to at once!"

She wasn't listening. "They attacked because of me!" She spun around, and Kai saw the long cut down her back.

"Queen Elsa!" he sounded mortified. "What on earth happened?" He turned his attention to the nurse. "Do your job before I fire you!"

The nurse scuttled behind Elsa as she paced, armed with cotton swabs to attempt to clean the wound. It would probably be easier if Elsa would stop moving.

But she didn't, she kept pacing around the room, finally clasping her hands together and pressing her knuckles lightly to her bottom lip. "Oh, god, I caused all this!"

"You did not," Anna said. "Don't even say that."

The door to the conference room opened, and a butler entered bearing a small silver tray aloft with an empty glass on it and a little bottle of scotch.

Aaron frowned. "What on earth is that for?"

The butler poured a glass of scotch and moved in the general direction of Elsa. "To calm your nerves, your majesty."

"Don't drink that," Kai said.

Elsa took the glass as she walked past, and it frosted as her fingers closed on it. She threw the glass back in a single gulp, and that made her stop moving for a moment, because it felt like her insides were on fire, and she nearly choked. After forcing the liquid down, she coughed twice, blinked a few times, then continued her pacing.

The butler held the tray as she went past, and Elsa plonked the glass down again.

Both Aaron and Kai were giving him poisonous looks.

"Is that really a good idea?" Kai asked. "A drink? Really?"

"Her father enjoyed a scotch after a stressful day," the butler defended. He poured another.

Elsa's pacing brought her past him again, and she took the glass en route to the other side of the room.

Kai looked livid, but it wasn't his place to complain about what the Queen was or was not doing.

Elsa didn't choke herself this time, and she had to admit the burning sensation was certainly different to the cold she was used to. Not good, by any means, but different. And anyway, she needed a distraction, she reasoned with herself.

The butler appeared again to collect the glass.

Aaron caught hold of Elsa's shoulder as she passed again, forcing her to stop. "Your majesty, please. Sit down. You've had a long day, and you haven't been well."

"Another reason to fill her full of drink," Kai muttered sarcastically.

The butler and magically refilled scotch glass appeared at Elsa's side again. She reached for it, but Kai was a fraction faster and took the glass from between her fingers. "That's quite enough of that, I think."

Elsa frowned, and flopped into her chair again. "I'm not drunk."

"Of course not."

"No one gets drunk on two glasses of scotch."

"Unless they weight as much as a snow ball and haven't eaten all day."

Elsa's fingers returned to her temples, and the poor nurse tried again to see to her arm. "This is all my fault."

Anna sighed. "It's not. Stop saying that."

Elsa folded her arms on the table, much to the annoyance of the nurse, and rested her forehead on them. "Of course it is. It always is. I'm a terrible queen."

My god, that scotch was strong.

"Weselton can wait until the morning," Aaron said gently. "It's getting late. Go to bed, and we'll address the issue first thing."

"Nurse first, then bed," Kai corrected hastily.

Elsa didn't lift her head.

Anna stood up, and went slowly to Elsa's side. She laid a hand on her shoulder, the uninjured one. "Elsa. Come on. Let's go to bed."

Elsa mumbled something into her arms.

"It's not your fault." Anna repeated firmly. "Come on. I'll stay with you tonight."

Kai was about to make his nurse argument again when Elsa sighed, and slowly stood up again. Anna kept her arm around her, and pointed her at the door.

"But the-"

"Not now," Anna snapped at Kai. "Just let her sleep."

Kai held his tongue.

Anna guided Elsa up the stairs, and now that the adrenaline had left her system, Anna felt bone tired. It was a little hard to tell who was leaning on whom by the time they reached Elsa's room. Anna closed the door softly, then rummaged in Elsa's closet for a night dress to borrow. By the time she turned around, Elsa had fallen face first onto the bed and seemed very intent on staying there.

Anna slid under the blankets beside her, for a second worrying that Elsa would get cold where she was, then remembering that that was a very unlikely scenario. She hadn't noticed how long the cut on Elsa's back was, but she could see it clearly now. Her hand hovered over it for a moment, then she drew her arms under the blankets.

Elsa's eyes were closed, so Anna assumed she was already asleep. She settled a bit more comfortably against the pillows, and closed her eyes as well.

**Oh, Elsa, sweetie, it'll be alright. Poor girl. I will update soon, as soon as I figure out where to go from here, because I only planned this far into the story and now I'm kind of winging it. Let's see what happens.**

**SpicedGold**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Vets are better than Doctors

**Next chapter is ready, and I've even planned the rest of the story. Woohoo. And for everyone wondering about Sven, hopefully this chapter will put your minds at ease.**

Despite the fact that she was exhausted, sleep did not come easily.

Elsa woke up only a few hours after falling asleep, because her arm was throbbing, and when she tried to move it into a more comfortable position she realised her back was throbbing too. And when she rolled over in frustration (and regret, when the fabric of the blankets pulled against her wounded back) she nearly rolled onto Anna.

Elsa sat up, wincing, feeling even worse than she had in the last few weeks. She sent a slightly annoyed look at Anna, and observed that her sister was apparently practicing sleep yoga.

One of Anna's arms was flung above her head, the other contorted in a peculiar shape which pointed her elbow at the ceiling. Her legs were facing two different directions, and her hair was standing on end. Clearly she was having a restless night.

Elsa eased herself off the bed, finding all her muscles sore and stiff. Her left arm didn't want to cooperate. She went to the window, and stared outside.

All traces of the storm had gone. There was only a light falling of snow, coating an otherwise peaceful city.

Elsa wrapped her arms around her stomach, feeling thoroughly battered. She wanted to go back to sleep, but something told her that wasn't going to work. Also, Anna was snoring.

Elsa wandered out of the castle, and paused to look at the damage done by Weselton's men. There was still a massive patch of blood near the castle, with three arrows scattered around it.

After Elsa's initial break down, following the murder of two people, she had managed to get herself together enough to whisper a few orders about finding any casualties, and helping anyone who was hurt. Kristoff had been unconscious, but Anna had insisted that someone had to find Sven, because that's where he was supposed to be before the whole attack started.

When two palace guards came up to her, they had mumbled in low voices that Sven was outside, and they weren't sure if he was dead or not, but they were leaning towards the former. Anna had nearly collapsed at the news and barked at them to find a vet, or ten vets, and the _absolute best vet_, and do anything they could to save him, if he wasn't already dead.

Anna knew Kristoff wouldn't leave Sven if the reindeer needed him, so she was afraid that the deer might have passed away after the attack. But she hadn't been brave enough to go outside and find out for herself.

Now, Elsa stood quietly next to the patch of blood, wondering how much was there, and how much blood a reindeer could stand to lose before it died. And then she realised that no one had actually confirmed Sven's death, and she continued on her way to the stables.

There were still lanterns burning inside the stables, and Elsa opened the door just enough to squeeze inside. A few horses snorted in surprise, clearly not expecting to see another visitor at this time of night. There was more light coming from a stable near the back of the building.

Elsa hesitated, then went towards it and peered inside.

The three people inside immediately looked up, and one scrambled to his feet. He was a small man, barely taller than Elsa herself, with black hair hidden under a woollen cap and soothing eyes. "Your majesty, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Is the reindeer dead?" Elsa asked quietly, looking at the animal laying on the stable floor.

Sven was on his side on a thick bed of straw, immobile and quiet, eyes closed. Elsa couldn't see if he was breathing. The other two men inside the stable were working on his wounds.

"Not yet," the man replied. "We've sent out a search for another reindeer for a blood transfusion. We're hoping it won't take too long to find one. He won't last much longer. But Princess Anna said we must do everything we can."

Elsa nodded.

"My Queen, if I may mention it," the man hesitated, "You don't look like you've seen a doctor since the attack."

"Not really," Elsa admitted. She kept her eyes on Sven, hoping to see his sides rise and fall, but he was so still. Could he really still be alive?

"My name is Ace," the man said, "I'm the best veterinarian around. While I'm waiting for reindeer blood, there's not much else I can do here. Would you like me to have a look at your arm?"

"You're a vet?" Elsa wasn't too keen on _anyone_ having a look at her, let alone someone not even trained in human medicine.

"The principles are the same," Ace replied. He looked too young to be the best vet around. He pushed the little wooden stool he had been sitting on against the wall of the stable. "Please, sit down."

It did seem like a good idea to sit, seeing as Elsa's legs were protesting having to hold her up after everything else that had happened that day. She settled on the stool, straight backed and refusing to lean back in case the wooden wall of the stable scratched at her back.

Ace dropped onto one knee in front of her, and dragged his bag closer. He worked quickly, and skilfully, gently taking her hand and turning her arm until the wound was clearly visible. Elsa had to resist the urge to snatch her limb away; the only people she was comfortable touching were Anna and Kai, but Ace was calm and professional.

"Tell me if I hurt you," he murmured, never once taking his eyes off her arm.

"It's fine."

"You're a lot easier than most of my patients. The last female I worked on tried to kick me in the head."

Elsa was too tired to be offended. She was almost dozing off when Ace spoke again.

"And what about the injury to your back?"

"My what?" Elsa blinked at him. "I didn't tell you . . ."

Ace grinned, and he looked even younger when he did. "I can tell by the way you were moving. Animals don't talk remember, so if I want to know what's wrong with them, I need to know how they should move. I've got a bit of a keen eye for injuries."

Elsa waited for him to continue.

"When you walked in here, I could see that your left arm was bothering you. Also, there's a problem on your back from your right scapula to your mid back. And you're favouring your right leg slightly."

That had been the knee which had taken the brunt of her fall up the stairs.

"Am I right?"

"Yes."

"So," Ace said, "Perhaps an injury so severe as to cause limited movement should be seen to?"

Elsa smiled at him, feeling much more at ease. "Yeah."

* * *

Anna was surprised again to find Elsa beside her when she woke up. She was even more surprised to see Elsa's arm was bandaged, and was unable to hide her shock.

"Elsa!" Woops. Inside voice.

Elsa nearly jumped out of her skin when Anna shouted right next to her ear. A poof of snowflakes appeared in the room, and she panicked for a second, wondering if something was wrong.

Then she saw Anna's disbelieving face, framed by wild red hair, and relaxed. "Um . . . is everything okay?"

"Who sorted your arm out?" Anna grabbed Elsa's wrist and yanked her arm up, inspecting the bandage. "Were you up all night?"

"I had to check on some things."

"Did you check on Kristoff? You obviously went to the infirmary."

Elsa felt her cheeks colour slightly, and prayed Anna wouldn't notice.

"Oh my gosh you're blushing what happened tell me!" Anna belted that out without any punctuation.

Elsa automatically drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "It's not what you think."

"I think you-" Anna stopped herself from blurting out something inappropriate. "Uh . . . I mean, you're right, it's probably not what I think. What was it? Is Kristoff okay?"

"I don't know," Elsa admitted. "I went to the stables."

"Oh." Anna's face fell. "_Oh_. Sven?"

"He . . . he was still alive when I left."

"He was?" Anna perked up again. "Oh, fantastic! Kristoff will be so happy. But that doesn't answer my first question.

"One of the vets did it," Elsa mumbled.

"Oh _really_?"

"What's with that tone of voice?"

"Nothing," Anna said innocently. "It's just you. Don't like people. You wouldn't let the nurse help you, odd that you would get this vet you just met and don't know to- oh my gosh was he a man?"

"What are you implying?"

"It is true love?"

"Anna, he's a vet. He was just doing his job."

"Doing you is his job, huh?" Anna wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Wink, wink, nudge, nudge."

Elsa didn't know what that meant, but knowing Anna it was probably lewd. "We have much more important things to focus on today."

"Nice subject change."

Conversations with Anna were always trying, and this one was no different.

Elsa stood up, slowly, because she still felt like she'd had a castle dropped on her.

Anna tumbled out of bed as well. "I'll go see Kristoff first, then check on Sven."

"For goodness sake, brush your hair and get dressed first."

"Why? I'm not a Queen." Anna was about to skip out of the room, then paused, looking a bit more subdued than usual. "Um . . ."

Elsa waited, mid-way through reaching for her hair brush.

"Is there still . . . ice in my room?"

Elsa swallowed. "Yes."

"But that's all, right? Just ice. Because ice is okay." _But two dead people are not_, Anna's pleading eyes added.

"Do you want me to get rid of the ice?" Elsa offered. It seemed like the least she could do, at least erase some of the tangible evidence of what happened yesterday.

"Yes please."

Elsa nodded, and stepped past Anna towards her room. Anna followed behind her, very close, very unlike herself.

Anna's room was still covered in snow and spikes of ice. A few had been broken off, but the majority of the ice was still there. Anna hovered in the doorway, but Elsa stepped inside.

She ran her hand across one jutting spike, almost feeling the fear and desperation in it. Her heart was heavy in her chest, her powers heavy all through her body. This should never have happened. Anna should never have seen this.

The ice didn't vanish as easily as it should have. Elsa found herself struggling to will it away, and as much as she made disappear, little bits appeared in other places around the room. Anna remained tactfully silent as Elsa struggled, but eventually the room was clear.

Elsa's heart and conscience were not. She stayed where she was, in the centre of the room, where Anna had been standing the day before, held in place and at knife point. And remembering that caused a crackle of ice to form around Elsa's feet.

"Elsa?" Anna said softly.

Elsa was surprised to find her sister right next to her, their shoulders touching lightly.

"It wasn't your fault."

"But it was my power." Elsa felt the weight of yesterday crashing onto her again. Absolute, crushing despair at what she had done. She had killed two people! How was she supposed to live with that? How could _anyone_ live with that? And how could anyone see her as anything but a monster, now, when it was so clear that she was one?

Elsa felt her breathing quicken, felt the familiar tightening in her chest, and thought absently, _I'm panicking._

She needed to be somewhere else, anywhere else, where there was no one around and where no one would look at her and think _there she is. The monster. The murderer._

She turned.

"Elsa, wait!"

"Please don't follow me, Anna. Please."

Anna stayed rooted to the spot. "But, I . . ."

Elsa's blue eyes, bright with unshed tears, locked onto Anna's for a moment, then she ran from the room, leaving Anna standing alone beside a patch of ice.

* * *

"I need a horse," Elsa announced, tight-lipped and stoically at the stable door.

No one questioned her, or the fact that since she had approached the stables it had started snowing again. Within moments, a creamy horse was presented, and Elsa climbed aboard.

"No one is to follow me," Elsa narrowed her eyes at everyone standing around, just so the message would be clear. When no one openly objected, Elsa turned the horse for the castle gates, and set off as a brisk trot.

Ace darted out of the stables in time to see the horse and Queen turn through the gates and disappear from sight.

* * *

Anna sat quietly next to Kristoff, holding his hand and glancing around the infirmary.

No one paid too much attention to her; there had been a few other people injured as well who were not currently knocked out and required a bit more attention than Kristoff.

"When are you going to wake up?" Anna asked. "The doctor said you should. He also said you're probably concussed. So being awake is a good thing."

Anna didn't know it, but a subconscious part of Kristoff's brain was convinced Sven was dead, and thus he didn't want to wake up, ever again, to face the world without his best friend. But Anna's voice was important too, and Kristoff could feel it drawing him to the surface of consciousness.

"Also, Elsa ran away, and I'm lonely. She said I couldn't follow her. I will, of course, but I've got to make sure you're alright first."

Kristoff scrunched his eyes, trying to wake up, but waking up meant facing the fact that he had the worst head ache ever known to man.

"And compose a letter to the Duke of Weselton telling him that Elsa's gonna kick his ass." Anna felt Kristoff squeeze her hand, and a delighted grin broke out on her face. "Hey, you're back. How's your head?"

Kristoff forced his eyes open. "I've got a thick skull."

"Not any more. The doctor said you might have a skull fracture, considering how hard you hit your head." Anna's smiling face finally came into focus.

Kristoff returned a slight smile. "Hey."

"Hi. Are you thirsty?"

"Yeah." Kristoff's eyes darkened a little. "Um, Anna . . . I . . ."

"Sven's in the stables," Anna guessed. "Elsa saw him last night."

"Is he . . .?"

"He was okay when she saw him. I'll go see him in a minute, and let you know. I just wanted to check on you first."

"He needs me."

"We've got the best vets," Anna assured him. "He's in the best hands."

"Go to him now," Kristoff insisted. "Please? I need to know if he's okay."

Anna nodded. "Okay. Stay here." She rose to her feet, and leaned forward to plant a soft kiss on Kristoff's forehead. "I'll be right back."

The stables were quiet. Anna found two people sitting in the thick straw with Sven. They both stood up when she approached, and bowed.

"Good morning Princess."

"Is he okay?" Anna asked anxiously. It didn't look like Sven was breathing from here.

"Time will tell." Not the most encouraging answer. "We will update you on the situation immediately if it changes."

"Thanks." Anna turned to leave. There was a horse being saddled just outside the stable building, by a young man with black hair mostly hidden under a woollen cap.

He smiled warmly. "Good morning, Princess Anna. The reindeer made it through the night, and I see you did as well."

"Uh . . . yes. Who are you?"

"My name's Ace," the man replied, finishing saddling his horse. "I'm the vet you asked for."

Anna did remember causing a bit of a scene demanding the best vet in Arendelle, no matter where he was or what time it was. "That's you?"

"Yes." He swung aboard the horse. "The reindeer is doing fine at the moment, so I'm just popping out for a minute. My people will inform you if anything changes."

"Yes, they said that. Where are you going?"

"After the Queen."

Anna wasn't expecting that answer. She blinked. "Wait, what? Elsa didn't want anyone to follow her."

"And the mare I had to attend to recently didn't want anyone to touch her, but if I didn't she would have died." Ace flashed his brilliant smile at her again. "Keep well. I'll be back in a few hours."

Anna raised an eyebrow. "Sure."

Ace galloped from the courtyard, leaving Anna mulling. So that must be the vet Elsa saw last night. Who was now following her. Interesting.

Anna shrugged. She would give Ace a few hours, but then she was going after Elsa herself. She was fairly certain Ace wouldn't be able to reason with her.

* * *

Elsa had not gone far.

She had only gone far enough into the forest to block out the sight of Arendelle. Her horse stood patiently, swishing its tail occasionally, while Elsa sat under a tree with her head resting on her knees and tears freezing on her face.

Nothing she did could erase the thought of skewering two people. Because she had been out of control. It had been going so well for her lately. Everything was falling into place. Her powers were never out of control anymore.

Until yesterday, and it had resulted in the death of two people. Elsa sobbed again as the thought crossed her mind, and balled her hands into tight fists. _Control it. Control it._

But she couldn't. Yesterday had proven that. No matter how hard she tried, she was never going to be able to control her powers. _Never_. And if she couldn't trust herself, how on earth was she supposed to live her life? She couldn't put Anna in danger again.

She didn't even deserve to have Anna in her life. Her parents had been right to lock her away, like a monster, because that's what she was. What was she supposed to do now? Run away?

The thought was tempting. The other thought was to get rid of her powers, but she didn't know how to do that, or even if it could be done. After all, there was no benefit to having them. She had spent her life proving that. All she had ever managed to do was hurt people.

"Those don't look like very healthy thoughts."

Elsa looked up when she heard Ace's voice, and wiped roughly at her face, scrubbing the tears away.

He dismounted his horse, but stayed a respectable distance away.

"Why did you follow me?" she asked accusingly.

"Whatever you're thinking, it's not good for you."

"How would you know?"

"I told you, animals talk to you with their bodies. And they say a lot if you know what to look for. I can see that whatever you are thinking is making you depressed. You feel angry at yourself, and you're questioning something important."

He got all that from her sitting and sulking under a tree? Elsa turned her head away from him. "Go away."

"Running away isn't the answer." The sound of snow crunching told Elsa that Ace was coming closer.

She remained facing away from him.

"I know you don't like to be touched, so I won't," Ace knelt down, close to her. "But you need to face this."

"I don't have to talk to you."

"I know." Ace stood up again. "You don't have to talk to anyone. But you can't keep all this inside."

_It's worked so far._

He started walking back to his horse. "Your sister was looking for you."

"I killed two people."

Ace stopped. Elsa had barely whispered, into her knees, with her eyes closed, but he had heard her. He turned around, and came slowly back to her side.

"I didn't mean to. I couldn't control it."

He sat down next to her, still remaining silent.

"I can't control it. I keep telling myself I can, but I clearly can't. Everyone hates me. I'm a murderer. A monster. Anna shouldn't love me, no one should."

"If I may offer an opinion?"

Elsa shrugged.

"I've seen reindeer gore people because their young were threatened. I've seen horses kick out and mean to do damage because they were scared. I've seen wolves attack because they were cornered and saw no other options. Sometimes, we let our grip on our self-control slip. It doesn't make us monsters. It just means we aren't perfect."

Elsa sniffled.

"Now you're worried because you did actually harm two people. Because you were scared, and cornered, and hurt, and your sister was being threatened. And apparently this storm we had last week was also you, to make sure that everyone was safe. If you ask me, a lifetime spent trying to protect others cannot be erased by a second's lack of control. You need to judge your life as a whole, not just as a two second fragment that wasn't even _you_. Sometimes you can't control your powers. That doesn't mean you should let them control you."

Elsa wiped her eyes again.

"It's who you choose to be now that matters. Not yesterday. The past is in the past."

She turned surprised eyes towards him. She wanted to say something, but she had no idea where to start. He was looking at her so earnestly, and still with the utmost respect. She couldn't help but notice that his eyes were dark brown.

Ace got to his feet. "Perhaps you should come home." He extended his hand towards her.

Elsa stared at it, feeling panic well inside her again. _No. Can't touch him. I'll freeze him. I'm out of control._

Ace stayed exactly as he was, his eyes kind, his expression patient.

After what felt like an eternity, Elsa hesitantly lifted one hand. She couldn't bring herself to touch him. She didn't know what would happen. She would have stayed like that for who knows how long if Ace hadn't leaned down just a little bit more, and gently closed his fingers around hers.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – One Thing at a Time

Kristoff had to wait until no one was looking before he jumped out of bed (_Ow, my head_) and tiptoed out of the castle towards the stables. Anna had assured him that Sven was alright ("He's a little limp, but I'm sure he'll be fine, you don't need to worry") but he couldn't take the fact that he had left him anymore.

He needed to see him.

There were still two people sitting in Sven's stable, as well as one addition.

Olaf was plunked in the straw at Sven's head, regarding him with an expression of clear confusion.

The two men recognised Kristoff, and respectfully left the stable so he could visit with his reindeer alone.

"Why won't Sven wake up?" Olaf asked, raising imploring eyes to Kristoff.

The Ice Harvester sank to his knees slowly, and laid a hand on Sven's neck. The deer felt cold, and for once didn't not respond when touched. Kristoff swallowed hard.

Olaf squirmed a bit, then asked again, "Kristoff? He won't open his eyes. Why not?"

"He's resting," Kristoff said gently. "He's . . . going to be resting for a while."

"Is he sick?"

"Yes."

"Is he cold?"

"Yes."

"He needs a warm hug, then," Olaf reasoned. The snowman got to his feet. He flopped against Sven's neck, his twig arms holding tightly to the thick, coarse fur. Little snowflakes from Olaf's personal flurry landed on Sven's ears and eyes, but the reindeer did not respond. Olaf hugged a little tighter, then straightened up and looked expectantly at Sven.

"Is he better now?" the snowman asked.

"I'm sure it helped," Kristoff said, at a loss for how to comfort a snowman.

"Kristoff?" A soft voice interrupted.

Kristoff looked at the stable doorway, to find Anna standing there. "Hi."

"Is he any better?" Anna came into the stable and sat down at Kristoff's side.

"Yes," Olaf said proudly. "He needed a warm hug."

"Thank you," Anna smiled. "You know who else needs a hug? I think Kai is still upset from yesterday too."

"I'll go find him!" Olaf promised, and trotted out of the stable.

Anna leant her cheek against Kristoff's shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"When he's alright, I'll be alright."

"You came for me, when Fluggard's team attacked. But Sven must have been hurt before that. Why did you leave him?"

Kristoff swallowed, and Anna could see his eyes shining brightly. He spoke carefully, keeping his voice level. "I was so certain that he was going to die. He was still and heavy in my arms. I figured he might have been dead at that time already. And I thought that if anyone was going after you . . ." He trailed off, then added softly, "I couldn't lose both of you."

Anna shifted her body slightly, so that she was leaning into him, but still watching Sven out of the corner of her eye. Kristoff put one arm around her, and held her close.

That was how Ace found them when he returned.

He didn't say anything, just slipped into the stable and knelt down at Sven's head, quietly checking the reindeer over.

"How is he doing?" Kristoff asked.

"His pulse is still very weak. We might have to give him more blood later. And get some water into him soon. If he does recover, it should be a full recovery." Ace ran a hand softly down the reindeer's back. "He's a very fit animal and obviously well cared for. That'll help him."

The vet stood up again. "Princess Anna, your sister is back."

"Where?"

"She went into the castle."

Anna almost stood up, then paused and looked at Kristoff.

"Go," he said. "I'll be fine here." He pulled affectionately at Sven's ear. "We're just going to chat for a while."

"I'll be back soon," Anna promised.

* * *

Elsa was on a mission.

Aaron had raised a questioning eyebrow when she'd marched into her study to find the letters sent by Weselton regarding the war, but had kept his mouth shut.

Kai had looked up when she stormed past him in the hallway clearly on her way somewhere.

And no one had said a word when she went very definitively into the dungeons, although Kai and Aaron had followed her at a safe distance.

Elsa went straight to the cell Luka was being held in, and opened the door without hesitation. Kai was closest, and about to question what on earth she was doing, when she slammed the door behind her in a manner that clearly said 'stay out.'

Slamming doors was one of the things she was good at.

Luka was sitting on the wooden bench in his cell, and he remained there when she entered. He didn't say anything.

"Why were you after Anna?" Elsa said without preamble.

Luka snorted. "Do you think I'm just going to tell you everything? Because if I don't you'll freeze me to death?"

"The fact that you're alive means that's still an option for me," Elsa replied flatly. "Now, tell me why you were after my sister."

"Do you have any idea how much you used to trade from Weselton?" Luka asked. "When you boycotted the country, the economy almost fell. People lost jobs. Houses. Businesses. And every letter the Duke sent to you, asking you to reconsider, was ignored."

Elsa folded her arms, waiting patiently for Luka to continue.

"There was only one thing that would get your attention. And that was going after something you loved, and ruining your life, just like how you ruined Weselton. The army was never here for a war. That was a ruse, to take your attention off Princess Anna. And that's why, when you made your little snowstorm, we only lasted a week. Because that's all the provisions we had. There isn't enough food in our country to even feed the people properly." Luka glowered. "And that's your fault."

Yesterday, Elsa would have agreed with him. She would have agreed that it was her fault, that everything was her fault. But not now. Her blue eyes narrowed. "No, it wasn't. I didn't try to assassinate myself. The Duke wanted me dead from the moment he discovered my ice powers. He sent men after me with the sole purpose of killing me. _That_ was not my fault."

Luka grunted. "Everything else was."

"Actually, none of it was. If you want someone to blame, blame my parents. Because they never taught me how to handle any of this properly. I'm doing the best I can, but I'm not perfect. I make mistakes. And barring all trade with Weselton was obviously one of them, but not a valid reason to try to assassinate my sister."

Outside the cell, Aaron, Kai and Anna, who had finally caught up to them, were all listening at the door.

"Whoa," Anna whispered. "Who gave Elsa a pep talk? She's totally in control in there."

"Every one of the people involved in this attack and attempted murder will be tried here in Arendelle under our laws," Elsa continued. "The rest of your army will be escorted back to Weselton, and I will be with them. The Duke and I have some things to talk about."

"He's not going to just let you waltz in there, you know," Luka warned.

Elsa was already half way out the door. She sent a smug smile over her shoulder. "I'd like to see him keep me out."

Anna, Aaron and Kai all leapt back from the door when they saw it start to open and scattered to an appropriate distance way, looking innocently around as though they hadn't been eavesdropping.

Elsa looked a bit surprised to see them all assembled. "What are you all doing here?"

"I was checking on the prisoners," Aaron answered.

"I was making sure you were alright," Kai said certainly.

"I'm coming with you to see the Duke," Anna announced.

Elsa raised a quizzical eyebrow. "No, you're not."

"And just why not?"

"He's already tried to kill you once; do you really think I'm going to bring you directly to him? Besides, I need you to take care of Arendelle while I'm gone." Elsa's expression left no doubt in Anna's mind that this was not the time to argue.

But Anna was still curious. As Elsa started making her way out of the dungeons, she skipped along behind her sister. "So, this is a fun personality change for you."

"What?"

"You're usually a little more . . ." Anna was going to say 'depressed' but thought better of it, "Subdued. But you went in there and really told Luka where he stood. What caused this catharsis of character?"

Elsa didn't know Anna even knew what the word 'catharsis' meant. "I had a talk with Ace."

Anna latched on this new information with vigour. "Really? With Ace? Ooooo . . . What did he say? My god, he practically rewrote your personality how awesome is that do you love him?"

"What? Anna, he's a vet-"

"That isn't answering the question!" Anna hollered. She grabbed Elsa's arm to prevent her from escaping. "Tell me, tell me!"

Elsa didn't have to answer straight away, because Anna was still nattering on, but she did wonder why her sister was still so obsessed with this 'love at first sight' thing when it clearly hadn't worked for her. She wanted to press her fingers into her temples again, because all this was starting to cause a head ache, but Anna was still attached onto one of her arms.

"Anna, if you bring this up again I'll . . ." Elsa didn't actually have a threat ready, and she sighed. "Just stay safe while I'm away."

"Don't you need me to go with you?"

"I'll be fine. Doesn't Kristoff need you to sit with him and Sven?"

"You . . . don't mind leaving to go out of the country, when you know Kristoff and I will be spending a lot of time together?"

"You'll be nursing his reindeer," Elsa said firmly. "And that is all."

"Oh, of course. Because we've never made out in the stables before-" Anna let go of Elsa as her fingers suddenly felt very, very cold.

* * *

"Make sure no one comes into the castle without being checked by the guards."

"Yes, Elsa," Anna sounded thoroughly disinterested as she twirled a braid around one finger and stared at the grey sky, still dotted with a few clouds.

"And don't break anything."

"Yes, Elsa."

"And don't overthrow the kingdom or anything." Elsa fidgeted at the bottom of the boarding ramp of her ship to Weselton. "If you have any questions-"

"Elsa, I've had a lot of practice spending time alone, I think I can manage."

Elsa wrung her hands together, looking nervous. "I know but-"

"If I need anything, Kristoff is here for me."

That didn't cheer Elsa up as much as Anna intended. The Queen hesitated. "Just be careful."

"I'll be fine, Elsa," Anna assured. "You're the one who might be walking into danger. Make sure you stay safe."

"I'll only be a week, hopefully less."

"And I'll be right here," Anna said. "Now go."

"Queen Elsa?" Aaron called down from the ship. "It's time to go." He was going along for the trip as Elsa's right hand man, with Kai staying behind to hold the fort and prevent Anna from causing an apocalypse.

"I love you," Elsa added.

Anna flung her arms around her sister and pulled her into a tight hug. "Love you too. See you soon." She released Elsa and jumped back. "Now go, everything with be fine here."

"Okay." Elsa didn't look terribly convinced, but she boarded the ship anyway.

Anna waved enthusiastically, waiting until the ship was almost out of sight before she ran back to the stables, and skidded to a halt outside the stall with Sven inside.

Kristoff was beaming. "Look who's awake!" He turned his demented grin from Anna to Sven, and back to Anna.

Ace was sitting at the reindeer's head, supporting his neck and gently dribbling water into his mouth. Sven's eyes were open, and he even managed to make a garbled sound of greeting when he saw Anna.

"Oh!" Anna exclaimed. "He's okay!"

"No, he's a bit better," Ace corrected. "Far from okay. He still needs a lot of care."

Kristoff kept one hand on Sven's shoulder, looking more relieved than Anna had ever seen him.

"Thank you," Anna said to the vet. "For coming here on such short notice and doing everything you could for him."

"Well," Ace smiled, "Who can refuse a direct order from the Princess of Arendelle? I've got to go and see to some other patients, but I'll leave both my assistants here to keep an eye on Sven. Later on, we'll see if he wants to eat."

Kristoff just nodded, still grinning like a doofus.

Ace exited the stables, stopping briefly to bow politely at Anna.

"So," Anna said to Kristoff, "I assume you'll be spending the night in here again?"

"Of course."

"Elsa said I could stay with you."

"She did?" Kristoff looked surprised. "That's odd. I thought she had strict 'no night time' rules?"

Anna crossed her arms, her eyes glinting mischievously. "Well, Elsa's not here, is she?"

* * *

The trip to Weselton was not eventful. Elsa spent most of it sitting in her room fretting, about what she was going to say, what the Duke was going to do, all the things Anna could get up to while she was away, and the fact that her arm still hurt.

Ace had redressed the wound before she had left, which had caused endless teasing from Anna and a lot of eye rolling from Kai ("We have people doctors for a reason, you know. There is no need to go to a _vet_.")

But Elsa felt comfortable with Ace, and that was more important to her than qualifications. Elsa would let Anna perform heart surgery on her if needed, because she trusted Anna implicitly. That random stray thought stayed with Elsa longer than she thought it would, mostly because she thought she might actually need a heart surgeon if hers didn't settle down soon.

She was more worried about being away from Anna than anything else. So far, she had established the fact that Anna was like an anchor in the sea of emotions that Elsa was always drowning in. Around Anna, she felt more relaxed, more in control. Everything was attainable if her sister was nearby.

And now she was off on a very high stress errand without her sister.

Oh god, what if she froze Weselton?

Elsa resumed her pacing, keeping her hands clasped together. Maybe Anna should have come with. But that would have been selfish, because Elsa would have been purposely putting her sister in danger just to make herself feel safer.

Curse these emotional conundrums!

Elsa sat down on her bed, taking deep, measured breaths. She could do this. She was the _Queen_, she wasn't going to let the fact that Anna was out of eyesight screw up everything she'd been working to control.

She had been repeating these thoughts to herself for so long it was a relief to hear Aaron knock on her door and call, "We're approaching Weselton harbour."

While Elsa was relieved that the journey was over, because waiting and brooding was getting her wound up too tight, she found herself suddenly terrified at the prospect of actually doing this. Perhaps a war would have been better. Less nerve wracking.

She put on a façade of calm, and went onto the deck of the ship to see the harbour.

She had never seen Weselton before, and it was startling how similar it was to Arendelle. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, perhaps some outrageous architecture, but it certainly wasn't something similar to home. That was . . . anticlimactic.

But familiarity, Elsa knew, was her friend, and a fraction of tension left her. She could see the Duke now, standing near the docks, but she couldn't read his face from here. As an educated guess, she would assume he was disgruntled.

Aaron stepped to her side. "Relax."

"I am."

"The fact that the deck is frosting over says otherwise."

Elsa gasped and looked down. Sure enough, there was a light but distinctive white patch forming around her. _Oh, great, we're not even there yet and Weselton is already expecting a suddenly change in weather._

"You don't have anything to be nervous about."

Elsa shot him an exasperated look.

"Besides, he's more scared of you than you are of him."

"I'm not scared of him at all, just the conversation we're going to have."

"Good. Then you have nothing to worry about. You're good at conversations."

"Based on what? Anna is good at conversations; I'm good at shutting up and keeping everything inside."

"No, Anna rambles. You don't speak without thinking, and you only say what needs to be said. You'll handle this brilliantly. And if you don't, what's another frozen city?"

"That's not funny," Elsa mumbled.

The Duke was clearly visible now, and he did not look amused. Elsa took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment and collecting her thoughts. She was regretting the decision to come here.

* * *

"So," Kristoff leant comfortably against Sven's back, the reindeer's head turned to watch him with quiet eyes, "What's this about Elsa and the vet?"

Anna was snuggled up in Kristoff's side, preparing for a night of reindeer nursing (and whatever else might come about when everyone left the stables later). She giggled. "Aw, you know. He fixed her arm and her back. And followed her when she ran off. And brought her back."

This didn't sound all that earth shattering to Kristoff. "So? I would have done the same."

"Ah, but Elsa wouldn't let you. Do you honestly think she'd let you take care of her if she was hurt? She didn't even want you in her room while she was sick. And she hated the doctor Kai got."

"Elsa's not a people person," Kristoff pointed out reasonably. "There's no underlying motive behind her actions."

"I asked her if she loved him and she dodged the question!"

"That's probably because she has only had two conversations with him and the answer was incredibly obvious."

"You grew up with love experts, you know it can happen."

"And you caused a whole city to freeze because you thought Elsa would accept your 'love at first sight'. You tend to jump on things wholeheartedly, but Elsa takes her time with any changes. She still doesn't like me."

"I guess. But I think there's something going on between them."

"Sure, sure." Kristoff yawned. He closed his eyes and squirmed a bit against Sven.

Anna chattered away, oblivious to the fact that he wasn't really listening anymore. Sven was, occasionally adding a grunt where he felt appropriate. Eventually, Anna ran out of words, and snuggled into Kristoff's side.

"Good night, Sven," she murmured. "Sweet dreams."

* * *

The Duke was not hiding the fact that he was glaring.

_Breathe_, Elsa reminded herself. _It really won't help matters if you lose it._ She stayed where she was, at the bottom of the boarding ramp, wondering who was going to speak first.

When the Duke drew himself up to his full, diminutive height she took the initiative, largely because she didn't want to know what he was going to blurt out.

"Look, let's get this straight," she said. "You don't like me, and I don't like you. But my first act as Queen was to boycott all trade with Weselton, and I didn't consider what that would mean to your country. I realise that my decision has caused a lot of problems, and I'm here to rectify that mistake. You can either send me home, or we can discuss this sensibly, but bear in mind that I am the only person who can help you right now.

"If you do send me home, you'll be dooming your entire country to starve just because you and I had a disagreement. This is not the fault of either country, it's between us."

There was a tense silence that stretched out longer than Elsa was hoping. She reminded herself to remain calm. She had nothing to lose here.

Finally, the Duke grumbled, "Welcome to Weselton."

* * *

Weselton was smaller than Arendelle, Elsa noticed. The conference room she and the Duke were in was maybe half the size of Arendelle's. The Duke had surrounded himself with people; Elsa assumed it was in the misguided belief that if she completely lost the plot she was statistically less likely to freeze him. Or maybe he thought she would be intimidated by the number of people.

Elsa wasn't. In fact, she was feeling much more at ease since leaving the ship. The ground was no longer rocking up and down under her, and now that she was faced with a task instead of moping and contemplating it, it didn't seemed too insurmountable.

Aaron was the only person from Arendelle with her, seated at her right, and apparently engaged in a staring contest with one of the Duke's men who had been at Elsa's coronation.

"Before we start," Elsa said, wanting to get everything out in the open, "I just want you to know that your attempt on Anna's life is unforgivable, so don't expect much sympathy from me regarding your plight."

Aaron gave her a look, losing the staring contest, which apparently meant something like 'seriously, Elsa, someone going after your sister is unforgivable but someone wanting to attack and declare war on everyone is just fine? Way to make us feel safe. Great priorities.'

Elsa ignored him. "But I can't let the whole of Weselton suffer because you . . ." Elsa had to pause for a second, to come up with a politically correct way of paraphrasing Anna's description of 'he's a dick', "… Are-"

"A dick," Aaron muttered.

"-Not on the best terms with Arendelle and myself." Elsa sent a glare briefly at Aaron, warning him to keep his mouth shut. If she wanted someone spouting nonsense next to her she would have brought Anna. "We are willing to reinstate some of our trade agreements."

"My neck still hurts!" the Duke accused. "I've been suffering for months."

Elsa almost rolled her eyes, but reminded herself that she was a Queen, not a whiny teenager. "You don't seem to be getting this. The ball's in my court. You have nothing to offer me. If you piss me off any more, I'll take my offer and your country's future and sail on home. It's your move. Make sure it's the right one."

Aaron had a self-satisfied little smile on his face.

"Fine! Which trade agreements are you willing to renegotiate?" The Duke crossed his arms huffily (Good grief, Elsa thought, he's more pouty than Anna).

Great, things were finally going the right way. Elsa felt a bit more tension leave her. "Before we sort that out, I just have one more thing to add."

The Duke made a 'go on' gesture with one hand.

"Do not try to attack my people again. Because next time you try it, I will fight back. Last time you saw me I was still getting the hang of my powers. Now, I'm in complete control, and I know what I'm capable of. If you attack, I will freeze everything. And trust me, when I do it on purpose it's much worse than when it's by accident."

* * *

Anna could see Elsa's ship returning, and she shouted loudly at Kristoff. "I see them! She's home!"

"You don't have to shout. You're sitting on my shoulders, it's not like I'm far away."

Anna waved madly, nearly over balancing. Kristoff just barely managed to keep them both upright. Anna had wanted a raised seat to watch Elsa's return, and had clambered on top of her poor, abused boyfriend because the lamp post she tried to climb was freezing cold and her hands had stuck to it without gloves, and slipped with them on.

Standing at Kristoff's side, slightly wobbly, and occasionally leaning against him, was Sven. Kristoff's round the clock nursing was paying off, and this was the second day the reindeer had been out for a walk.

The ship pulled up into the harbour, and Anna waved with both hands, almost falling off Kristoff's shoulders. He grabbed a bit more securely at her legs.

Elsa was leaning on the railing of the ship, looking peaceful and relaxed. She waved at Anna with one arm, much more subdued and dignified than her sister.

"Did you kick his ass?" Anna asked as soon as Elsa was back on solid ground. She scrambled off Kristoff in order to give her sister a hug.

"I didn't have to," Elsa said, returning Anna's hug. "We talked, and sorted everything out. And I told him to leave us alone, or I would have to take matters into my own hands."

"Ooo, sounds bad ass. How much did you have to freeze before he agreed with you?"

"Nothing. It was a perfectly peaceful negotiation."

"That sounds boring." Anna made a face.

"No, it was exactly what I was hoping for." Elsa nodded to Kristoff. "Thank you for keeping an eye on Anna for me."

Kristoff shrugged. "No problem."

"How's Sven?" Elsa asked.

Kristoff slung an arm over the reindeer's back, and Sven leant against him. "Doing better all the time. That vet's really good, by the way. I don't think Sven would have made it without him."

"Hm," Elsa glanced in the general direction of the stables, looking thoughtful. "Excuse me for a moment. Anna, I'll see you at dinner."

"Okay," Anna said slowly as Elsa started towards the stables. She traded glances with Kristoff. "What do you think that's about?"

"I have no idea."

Sven grunted.

"And neither does he," Kristoff translated. "C'mon, buddy, let's take a walk. You need to exercise." He kept his arm over Sven's back as the reindeer took a few, halting steps. Anna went to Sven's other side. "Where's Olaf? He wanted to come with us next time we took a walk."

"I think he's in the castle," Anna said. "Is Sven well enough to go find him?"

"What do you think?" Kristoff asked his reindeer. "Do you want to find Olaf? He's been missing you."

Sven nodded, and lurched forward with a bit more energy.

* * *

Elsa peered hesitantly into the stables. She didn't know why she was so nervous. "Um, Ace? Are you in here?"

"Queen Elsa," the vet popped out of a stable, his brilliant smile in place. "Welcome home. I'm almost done here, if you need to talk. This horse bruised his foot, I'm just checking up on it."

Elsa waited in the door way until Ace exited the stable, running a hand through his dark hair. He bowed politely.

"How can I help?"

"I wanted to thank you. For taking such good care of Sven," Elsa began. "You had to work hard to save him, and he's only a reindeer-"

Ace held up a hand. "No, he's much more than that. Things only have as much value as we give them. Sven means the world to Kristoff, and to Princess Anna. And to your little snowman. He's worth more than all the horses in this stable combined. There is nothing 'only' about him. Monetary value is not the true value of something. I will work just as hard to save a little's girl's pet as I would on the most expensive horse in Arendelle, because they are all equal. But thank you, for appreciating my work."

"Would you . . . I mean, please join us in the castle for dinner tonight. As part of my thanks. And for being incredibly diplomatic. You also need to give me a bill for your services."

"The reindeer belongs to Kristoff, so I will ask of him what I need."

"Kristoff does not have that sort of money."

"Then, neither will I," Ace grinned. "I'll get by. My payment is knowing that the animals I treat are safe, loved and cared for."

Elsa cleared her throat. "I also owe you for treating me."

"Don't be ridic-"

"No," Elsa interrupted, "Your medical training is a specialised field. Let me know how much I owe you for taking a look at my arm and back."

"I don't really treat people, so I don't have a billing system for that . . ."

"Well, then, let's start with dinner, and see what happens from there. How does that sound?"

Ace smiled. "Perfect."

"I'll see you tonight, then." Elsa nodded briefly at him. "And thank you, again."

"You're welcome."

* * *

"Oh, you did _what_?" Anna asked, sitting cross legged on Elsa's bed with her jaw on the floor. "You asked the vet on a date?"

"It's not a date," Elsa replied patiently, untying her hair and unravelling her braid. "You're going to be there. So is Kristoff."

"That just makes it a double date!"

"It's not; it's to thank him for what he did. He dropped everything to come when you called him, and he really is the best vet around. He's not as well off as we are, and I thought it would be nice to do something for him to show our appreciation. Sven would be dead without him."

"That's true. But it still sounds like you asked him on a date."

"Well, I didn't."

Anna raised both eyebrows. "Oh, really?"

"Why are you so fixated on this, Anna?" Elsa asked with a sigh.

"Because everyone needs someone. You still need to find your true love. Like me and Kristoff."

Elsa sat down next to her sister. "True love can take many forms, Anna. Love is meant to make you feel complete. And I have that already. I have you."

"But you still need romantic love," Anna insisted. "Everyone does!"

Elsa closed her eyes for a second, practising patience. "One thing at a time, Anna. I'm still getting used to having people around again. Don't rush me."

"Sure, sure. I'll keep quiet about it. But . . . Don't close people out. If you're so comfortable with Ace that you let him doctor you, and invited him to dinner, maybe you feel something for him."

Elsa exhaled, her shoulders slumping slightly in defeat. "Okay, Anna, I'll give it chance. But only to get you to shut up about it."

Anna's whole face lit up. "Yay! I'll get ready for dinner!" She leapt towards the door, then paused half way out of it. "I'm only bugging you about this because I want you to be happy like I am."

"I know." Elsa smiled tenderly. "And your heart's in the right place."

Anna grinned. "See you at dinner. For our _double date_."

* * *

Ace was waiting when Anna and Elsa came downstairs, but Kristoff was nowhere to be seen. Anna immediately elbowed Elsa in the ribs when she caught sight of the vet, because he had dressed himself up in a wonderful dark outfit and had his short, smooth hair was finally free of his woollen cap.

Elsa didn't know why Anna elbowed her, but she assumed it was an extension of the conversation they had had earlier.

"Good evening Queen Elsa, Princess Anna," Ace bowed. "You both look lovely."

"So do you," Anna replied. "Who knew vets cleaned up so well?"

"My family was actually quite well off," Ace said. "But I had to leave them to continue my work."

"Where are you from?" Anna asked, seeing as conversation was not Elsa's strong point and she didn't seem at all inclined to try to rectify that flaw.

"I was actually born in Weselton."

Elsa raised an eyebrow.

"I was working there until . . . the middle of summer. Then I heard . . . well, I might as well be honest." Ace squared his shoulders. "My brother was working for the Duke of Weselton at the time of your coronation. He was here, when you froze summer. When he came home, things started to go a little bit awry. We had a food shortage, and a work shortage. I came here to work, and to send whatever I earn home to my family."

"Hang on," Elsa said, "You weren't going to accept payment for helping Sven."

"I know. He shouldn't have been injured. None of you should have. I can't accept payment for my country causing the pain."

"Oh," Anna said. "That's very . . . nice of you."

"But your family must need the money," Elsa pointed out. "I mean, I've reinstated most of the trade with Weselton, but it's still going to take a few months for things to go back to normal there."

"My brothers . . ." Ace hesitated. "My brother will help as well. We'll get by." He looked sad, his dark eyes dropping to the floor.

Elsa recognised grief when she saw it. "Ace? You corrected yourself when you said 'brothers'. Is everything okay?"

"I shouldn't talk about it."

"You told me that keeping it inside was unhealthy," Elsa said gently.

"You'll feel bad," Ace said. "And I don't want that. And besides, it's not like . . . oh, you'll find out soon enough. One of the men who attacked Anna, the ones you . . . accidentally killed . . . one of them was my older brother."

Anna noticed her breath was suddenly visible in the room, and a worried glance at Elsa revealed all the colour draining from the Queen's face.

Elsa felt her heart beat quicken, felt that wave of guilt that had been lying idle wash over her. That didn't make sense. It couldn't be true. Why would Ace have comforted her that day in the forest if he knew . . .? Why would he even speak to her? Why would he do anything for her? Oh god, she was worse than a monster.

"Queen Elsa?" Ace asked uncertainly. "Are you alright?"

She couldn't answer; her breath was stuck in her throat. She felt utterly mortified at what she had done.

"Elsa?" Anna questioned, lifting one hand hesitantly towards Elsa's shoulder. She could feel the cold radiating from her sister.

The fact that one of the murdered men was Ace's brother made it all seem real; he wasn't just a nameless, faceless person from Weselton. He had a family. Elsa had hurt an entire family. She knew what it felt like to lose part of your family.

It gnawed away it you, it was the worst feeling in the world. And she had done this to Ace, to one of the sweetest men she had ever known, without a mean bone in his body.

Both Anna and Ace looked up, startled, when they heard the wind outside begin howling again, and the familiar sound of snow battering against the castle.

Anna reached her hand towards Elsa, just brushing against her arm. Elsa jumped back as though stung, her eyes bright and wide and frightened. "No, Anna! Don't touch me!"

"Elsa-"

But Elsa was backing away from them, bringing both hands up to her chest, where they were safe and where they couldn't do any more damage. Then she was running back upstairs, leaving a trail of frozen carpet where she stepped.

Anna was about to go after her when the door opened, and Kristoff appeared. He looked pale, his expression worried. He blurted out, "Sven won't get up!"

**Thank you all for reading**

**SpicedGold**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – You can't Run from This

**Phew, this was a mission to write, I rewrote the end of this chapter about 10 times. I'm mostly happy with it now. Anywho, this the second last chapter of this story, last one will be up tomorrow. But don't worry, I'm already working on a new story. Thanks for reading :-)**

The reindeer was lying in the snow outside, with Olaf sitting at his head.

Ace immediately went to his side, his hands running over the reindeer's healing wounds.

Kristoff hovered anxiously. "We were just finishing our walk. He stopped, then collapsed and won't get up again."

"Here's the problem," Ace's palm was flat against Sven's hind leg. "This wound is infected. Something is stopping it from healing."

"You're the best vet, how could this happen?" Kristoff asked.

"My assistants addressed this particular wound. I did the two in his side, because they were in vital organs. This one was purely muscular, but damn it, I should have checked it myself." Ace swore under his breath, angry at himself. "We need to get him into the stables. I'll have to lance the wound and look inside. Where are the arrows from the attack?"

"In-inside," Anna stuttered, her arms wrapped around herself. It was freezing outside, and she had been dressed for a warm, indoor dinner. But Kristoff had looked so distraught that she had run outside without a coat. "Why?"

"I think the tip might have broken off one of them. That would explain the infection. Fetch them; we need to see how big the piece is."

The wind was increasing, and Olaf was struggling to stay in one piece. He kept his arms firmly around Sven's neck, determined not to let go.

"Olaf, you need to come inside with me," Anna shouted over the wind.

"But Sven's my friend!"

"I need you to help me. We'll come right back to him."

Olaf let go reluctantly, nearly blowing into Anna's legs. "If you say so. We better hurry, then!"

"Yup," Anna grabbed a hold of one of Olaf's arms, and started dragging him back towards the castle.

"Can you lift him from that side?" Ace asked, already working his arms under Sven's belly.

Kristoff nodded. "Yes."

They got into position, and heaved Sven to his feet. Ace staggered under the weight of the reindeer. "Okay, slowly now, let's get him into the stables."

Kristoff squinted through the snow, taking small steps, and trying not to drop his friend. They managed, slowly, to carry him inside, where Ace almost collapsed.

"Whoa," he said once Sven was lying in the warm straw. "That's a sturdy reindeer. He clearly works hard." He stripped off his coat. "Have you ever operated before?"

"Are you joking? I can't operate." Kristoff blinked. "I cut ice, not flesh."

"Well, my assistants aren't here tonight. I need you to help me."

"To do what?" Kristoff asked nervously.

"You can monitor him. Watch his pulse and respiration. I'll do all the cutting and draining."

"What do you need?" Anna and Olaf were in the stable doorway. Anna handed Ace an arrow. "This one's broken."

Ace studied the tip. "It's a very small piece missing. It's going to be hard to find. We need more light, and hot water. Olaf, can you fetch my bag?"

"Sure," the snowman said agreeably, and went to another part of the stable to retrieve it.

"I'm sorry about your brother," Anna said, shifting uncomfortably back and forth in the doorway.

Ace was pushing Sven into position, firmly on his side with the injured hind leg extended. "Perhaps now is not the time to discuss it."

"Here!" Olaf reappeared, dragging Ace's bag.

"Thanks," the vet smiled, and immediately began taking out supplies.

"Can I help?" Olaf asked.

"Of course. Are you going to faint at the sight of blood?"

"Nope," Olaf said assuredly.

"Then you can assist me. Princess, can you fetch the water? And another lantern?"

"Yup," Anna nodded shortly, then ran from the stable.

"What was that about your brother?" Kristoff asked, as Ace found Sven's pulse under his jaw, and guided Kristoff's fingers to it.

"Trust me, this is not the time to discuss it. I have a chance to save a life here; I'd rather focus on that."

When Anna returned, Ace knocked Sven out with chloroform, and told Kristoff to watch his breathing and heart rate, and to let him know if they dropped beyond a certain point. Then he shaved off the fur around the wounded leg, with his tools laid on a towel on the straw. Olaf passed him whatever he needed, and even held a small bowl while Ace drained the wound into it.

Anna nearly threw up, but Olaf handled it. The princess had to sit down rather suddenly, with Kristoff between her and Sven, so she couldn't see what was going on. Then Ace excavated the wound, looking for the tiny piece of arrowhead, while Olaf dutifully searched through the gunk in the bowl in case it had come out.

Finally, Ace muttered, "Got it." He drew his fingers out of Sven's leg, with the tiny piece of metal pinched between his fingers. He handed it to Olaf, who held onto it with something akin to awe. Then he cleaned the wound again, and stitched it up.

"He's moving," Kristoff warned.

"Yeah," Ace wrapped his instruments in their towel and tossed it out of the stable. "Olaf, better get out fast."

"Why?"

"He's going to kick like hell when he comes round." Ace quickly moved everything out into the aisle. "Kristoff, I recommend exiting this stable."

Anna jumped out of the way and Sven began to shift, a low moan escaping the animal. Kristoff climbed to his feet much more slowly, but when Sven kicked out and hit the wooden wall with a powerful leg, he beat a hasty retreat.

The reindeer thrashed around, kicking and rolling, for a few minutes before quieting, and lifting his head. He saw Kristoff, and brayed a greeting.

"Hey, buddy," Kristoff went into the stable again. "Feeling better?"

"He's probably going to have a fever for the next couple of days," Ace warned. "If you can get him up and outside every day, the cold will help. And I apologise for the shoddy work of my assistants. I'll be having a word with them. Thank you for your help."

Olaf held up the metal fragment. "What should I do with this?"

Ace grinned. "Keep it. It can be your memento from your first operation."

Olaf looked ecstatic. "Really? Awesome!"

"That's the first time I've ever had a snowman assist me," Ace admitted. "It was different. Now, I've got get all my equipment sterilised. Princess Anna, shouldn't you be with your sister?"

"She's not going to talk to me right now."

"None of my patients ever talk to me," Ace pointed out. "But they need me there nonetheless."

Anna couldn't argue with that logic. "I guess. Okay, fine, I'm going." She battled her way through the snow back into the castle, and was stopped at the foot of the stairs by Kai.

"What happened to dinner?" he asked. "No one showed up, and it's been more than an hour."

"Oh, long story," Anna said breezily, already started to jog up the stairs, "Sven collapsed and Elsa killed the vet's brother."

Kai blinked. And mulled over that declaration for a moment. Anna was already out of sight by the time he gathered the ability to speak again. "I don't understand teenagers."

* * *

Anna knocked gently on Elsa's door. She wasn't expecting an answer, so the tense silence did not discourage her. She tried to open the door, finding it almost stuck fast with ice. Anna rammed into it with a bit more force, and it scraped open.

The room was completely frozen. There were even snowflakes suspended in the air, swaying gently with some unseen source of wind. Anna stepped carefully, because the floor was slick and icy and she didn't want to slip and land on her backside.

"Elsa?" Anna's shuffling finally brought her to the window, under which Elsa was sitting in a miserable ball, surrounded by pointed icicles. It made it very hard to get close to her. "I know you can hear me."

Elsa's answer was a muffled sob, and the icicles around her extended a few centimetres.

Anna had to settle for sitting a few feet away to prevent being skewered. "Sven's going to be fine. Oh, right, you didn't know. We've all been in the stables fixing his leg."

Elsa still didn't look up.

"There was a bit of arrow still in there. Olaf helped. He likes Ace. Everyone does. Please say something."

Elsa let out a long, shuddering breath. "I . . . killed his brother."

"Yeah. I know. I wish I could say something to make you feel better."

"I didn't think of all the other people I had hurt. It wasn't just two people. It was two people who _died_. But the people left behind suffer just as much."

Anna remained quiet.

"I know what it's like to lose part of your family."

"We both do." Anna said softly.

"I wouldn't wish that on anyone, but I caused it. It's because of me that Ace has to go through what we went through."

"It was an accident."

"It doesn't matter!" Elsa said hoarsely. "Our parents' dying was an accident but it didn't make it any easier!"

"Do you think he blames you?"

"Why wouldn't he? It was my fault."

"Elsa, you don't always need someone to blame. I don't hate the ocean, and neither do you. Sometimes bad things happen. Even though you weren't in control of yourself at the time, you were still doing what you thought was best. You were trying to save me. You weren't just running around and spearing people. This wasn't murder, it was an accident. Ace understands that."

"But I don't think I do," Elsa whimpered. "I feel terrible Anna."

"That's because you're human. It's normal to feel this way. You feel responsible."

"Because it's my fault," Elsa reasoned.

"No," Anna sounded exasperated. "Because you always think everything is your fault. Listen to me, you don't know how to deal with guilt. Probably because every time you've felt it you've reacted in the wrong way."

Elsa frowned, clearly not following.

"When you froze my head, when we were kids, instead of dealing with it, our parents locked you away. And you felt guilty but didn't know what to do about it. Then you froze Arendelle, and when I told you about that you just, well, froze me again, but that wasn't your fault," Anna added hastily. "It was just you not knowing how to handle your emotions. That's all this is. The only thing you're doing wrong is beating yourself up over every mistake you made. You need to learn to let it go."

"How?"

"I have no idea," Anna admitted. "I don't think this is the sort of thing you can fix overnight."

Elsa groaned, wondering how long this feeling was going to last. She'd rather sit through a yearlong blizzard than feel this way, this felt worse than the storm inside. Her stomach felt like lead, and a nauseating feeling sat at the back of her throat. She felt completely hollow, and wished the storm would come back.

It might have hurt, but having nothing inside hurt more.

* * *

Elsa spent most of the night mulling over Anna's words. She knew she wasn't going to sleep, so there didn't seem to be any point in pretending to. She paced around her room, freezing and unfreezing things and generally being fidgety.

Anna had eventually retired to her own room, after asking Elsa about ten times if she wanted to get supper. Elsa had declined, and Anna had left her sitting in her room surrounded by ice.

It was past midnight now. Elsa had come to the conclusion that everything bad in her life related to her powers. There were a few good points to it: like Olaf, and her early memories with Anna. But the bad far, far outweighed the good.

The solution, Elsa was realising, was to get rid of her powers.

This was not the first time she'd batted this idea around. It had never gone any further than an idle thought, because Elsa didn't know how to proceed. The idea she was toying with now was that her powers might run out one day. Perhaps there was only so much magic in her, and she could use it all up.

That decision sounded like the best option at the moment. Elsa felt a slight sense of relief at having decided to do something, even if she wasn't sure it would work. She left the castle, and went down to the stables to get a horse.

* * *

Kristoff was asleep against Sven's back when he heard the stable door slide open, and sat up groggily. He wondered if that was Anna, coming to check on them. It was still pitch black outside, so it was most likely to be Ace.

He leant against Sven again, figuring that whoever it was could check on them without needing him to be awake. He was exhausted, anyway, and going back to sleep sounded very tempting. Kristoff vaguely heard a horse being saddled, and the clopping of its hooves as it left.

A small part of his brain wondered who would be saddling up at this time of night, but a much larger part said 'it won't be urgent, go back to sleep'. So he did.

* * *

Anna woke rather abruptly the next morning by rolling over and finding no more bed underneath her. She thumped onto the floor in a tangle of blankets, then struggled to free herself and sit up.

She looked outside. The sky was still grey and cloudy, but the wind had ceased, and it wasn't snowing.

Anna dressed hurriedly, wanting to check on Sven first, and then Elsa. She had decided on Elsa last, because she assumed after their talk last night Elsa would be exhausted, and Anna didn't want to wake her.

After dressing warmly, she ran down to the stables to find Kristoff and Sven both awake and apparently chatting.

"Good morning," Kristoff beamed at her. "He's doing so much better than last night. He does have a fever, like Ace said, so after breakfast we're going outside. Do you want to come?"

"Yes," Anna smiled. "But I've got to talk to Elsa first. Are you having breakfast inside the castle or do you want me to bring you something?"

"I think I can come inside," Kristoff shrugged. "It's been a while since I actually sat down to a meal. I'll meet you at the kitchen in a few minutes." He straightened up, patting the straw off his clothes. "Just gotta clean up a bit first."

"Cool, I'll wake Elsa and see you soon." Anna patted Sven's neck. "Bye Sven."

The reindeer snuffled, looking much happier than he had last night.

Anna went back upstairs, and knocked loudly on Elsa's door. "Elsa? Are you awake?"

There was no answer.

Anna knocked a bit louder. "Elsa! It's me, it's time to wake up. Can I come in?"

Anna waited patiently, but there was still silence from the other side of the door. Slightly concerned, Anna opened the door and peered inside. The room looked the same as last night, covered in ice, with one major difference. Elsa was not in it.

Anna went downstairs with a frown. She found Kai in the dining room. "Have you seen Elsa?"

"As far as I know, she's still in bed," Kai replied.

"No, she's not."

"Then, I don't know where she is."

"Okay." Anna went to the kitchen next, where Kristoff was already waiting. "Elsa's not in her room."

"She could be her study," he suggested, busy dishing up breakfast from the buffet that was still being prepared.

"If you're talking about Queen Elsa," Gerda came into the kitchen, "She's not, because I was just in her study."

"Where else would she be?" Anna asked no one in particular.

"I'll keep looking for her while you eat," Gerda offered.

Anna nodded. "Thanks. That'd be great."

It was not long after breakfast that Anna concluded that Elsa was not in the castle. And when they went back to Sven, Anna noticed that a horse was missing too.

"That's the horse Elsa usually rides," Anna realised.

Kristoff shrugged. "Maybe she went for a ride."

"Elsa? Really?" Anna gave him a look. "Stay-indoors-and-read-a-book-Elsa suddenly going on a thrilling solo horseback expedition?"

"Why else would she go?"

Anna didn't have an answer for that. "I have no idea. But I'm going to follow her. Coming?"

"What, and leave Sven?" Kristoff looked flabbergasted. "I can't do that."

"Would you rather I go by myself?"

"No. You always get into trouble. At least take Olaf."

The snowman heard his name and came running from Sven's stall. "Take me where?"

"To find Elsa," Kristoff explained. "We have no idea where she is."

"Oh, okay. Sounds like fun." Olaf beamed. "When do we leave?"

* * *

Elsa was sitting rather precariously on the newly repaired balcony of her Ice Palace in the North Mountain. She had her back against the wall, and one foot resting on the railing, the other leg hanging down and swinging gently.

She was watching the sun rise, and absently spewing out little flurries of ice and snow.

After riding all the way here in the dark, with a few harrowing moments where her horse stumbled, Elsa had fixed up the castle, and spent most of the night nonsensically using her powers. She had made more snow fall on the mountains. She had made other sculptures, and just sent forth huge bursts of snow off the balcony into the chasm below her.

Now the sun was starting to reach her and light up the palace. Elsa was feeling sleepy, since she hadn't slept the night before, but she kept twirling her hand and watching snow form out of nowhere. She was determined to keep using her powers until they stopped.

It did occur to her that this was an incredibly unsafe place to be when she was only half awake, and if she fell asleep there was a fifty per cent chance she would fall and plummet into a snow-filled chasm. But when one is sleepy and frustrated and weighed down with guilt one doesn't really think of these things.

So Elsa stayed where she was, automatically making snow and snowflakes. She didn't know how much time had passed, but she noticed that the sun was becoming uncomfortably hot, and she should move.

"Elsa!"

Elsa blinked, wondering if she had really heard Anna call her name or not. It seemed highly unlikely. But then again, why would her mind be making up something like that? Elsa looked down, and saw, at the bottom of the icy staircase leading up the palace, her sister sitting on a horse, with Olaf perched behind her.

She didn't say anything in reply, because she wasn't as good at shouting as Anna was, and her voice wouldn't have reached all the way down there.

"What on earth are you doing up there?" Anna hollered.

Elsa wondered if her sister intended to have the entire, one-sided conversation in very loud screaming, or if she was going to come inside and talk like a normal person. Anna's next yell answered Elsa's thoughts.

"I'm coming up, stay there!"

Elsa sighed, letting the hand that was swirling around fall to her side. She felt limp and dull. And instead of climbing down to greet Anna, she stayed put, staring at the sky and feeling as though she never wanted to move again.

Finally, she heard Anna's footsteps ringing hollowly on the ice floor, and then Anna appeared at her side.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then Anna cleared her throat. "So . . . this doesn't seem like a very safe place for a nap."

Elsa let her eyes fall closed. Now that Anna was here, she was perfectly safe.

"Why did you come here? Surely there's enough room at home for you to mope?"

When Elsa still didn't answer, Anna laid a gloved hand gently on her shoulder.

"Elsa? Are you alright?"

"No."

"What's wrong?"

"_What's wrong_? I'm _wrong_. Everything about me is _wrong_. Because of these stupid powers." Elsa clenched one hand in a fist, and shards of ice flew from her hand, falling harmlessly of the balcony. "I want them gone."

"Wait, what?" Anna couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Are you joking? You can't get rid of them. They're a part of you."

"I don't want them. I never wanted them."

"That's not something you have a choice in."

"We don't know that for sure."

"Is that why you're up here? To try to find a way to get rid of your powers?"

Elsa nodded.

"How? You don't even know if that can be done."

Elsa's lip trembled. "I have to try."

"But why? Elsa, you don't have to change yourself. You're perfect the way you are. Everything that's going on right now, that's just stuff and it'll get better. You have me now; you're not alone in any of this. Please, come home. We can work through this together."

Elsa brought both hands up to her face, and covered her eyes. "No, I can't. I can't do this anymore; I can't do any of this!"

"What do you mean?"

"I can't be Queen, Anna, I've had enough. I can't handle it any more. This is not who I'm meant to be. I keep screwing it up. I'm not good enough, not for you, not for Arendelle, not for anyone!" Elsa's voice finally broke, and Anna saw her shoulders heave, and her next few words were shrouded in tears. "I can't go home . . ."

Anna was not expecting this. She had expected Elsa to be a little morbid, fretting over what she had done to Ace. But then she would get over it, and square her shoulders and come home because she was Elsa, and she was the strongest person Anna knew.

Only now, it seemed like Anna was wrong.

"But where would we go?" she asked softly, all her bubbly exterior crumbling in the face of her older sister's break down.

"You'd stay in Arendelle. I would go. I don't know where, anywhere else would be better."

"You'd leave me?"

"I'm trying to protect you," Elsa pointed out, holding back more sobs. "You've seen what I can do; I'm too dangerous to be around you. And Arendelle can't have a ruler who can't even control herself."

"So you'd run away . . . from me?"

"Not _from_ you, Anna, _for_ you."

"No!" Anna suddenly shouted.

Elsa started at her sister's outburst, and turned her head to face her, eyes wide.

"No! You can't run away!" Anna could feel tears welling in her eyes. "I won't let you! I just got you back and I can't let you leave me again. Don't I _matter_? I want you here; I want to be your sister. And if you run away I'm coming with you. Don't throw me aside, again, please, I can't take it!"

Elsa stayed quiet, utterly baffled.

"You're the world to me, and I don't know what I'd do without you! Don't leave me, I need you." Anna couldn't hold the tears back anymore, and she felt them spill onto her cheeks, chilling and cold. "Please don't shut me out again. Please. I can't live without you again."

Elsa felt the back of her throat burning, she swallowed hard, because she had to make Anna see sense, and bursting into tears wouldn't help her case. She had to leave, because if she stayed she would hurt Anna, and Arendelle, and everything-

"Nothing in the world is worse than losing you," Anna continued, wiping at her face roughly. "And if you leave I'll follow and I'll never stop looking for you. So get it together and stop being so selfish!"

"Wh . . .?"

"You're only thinking of yourself! What about everyone you'll leave behind? You'll break my heart if you go. Arendelle needs you. Olaf needs you. Do you think Olaf will be okay if you just _leave_? He loves you, and he needs you. And if you go, I go." Anna took a deep breath, running out of things to rant about.

Elsa was still staring at her, and now Anna could see her blue eyes shining with unshed tears and her shoulders heaving as she struggled to keep silent.

"This is who you are," Anna snapped, torn between anger and despair. "You have ice powers, Elsa, _deal with it_! You are the Queen of Arendelle and you can't change that! And you're my sister, so you better get it together and act like it! Because if you think I'm just going to let you walk away without doing everything I can to stop you, you're an _idiot_."

Elsa finally drew her leg over the rail of the balcony, and stepped onto the ice. She stood up, clenching both hands into fists. Anna's lower jaw was jutting out stubbornly in an attempt to stifle any further wailing, but there were still tears running down her cheeks.

Elsa sniffed, once, then threw her arms around Anna and buried her face into her sister's neck. Anna immediately returned the embrace, tightly, not willing to let go in case Elsa tried to slip away.

But Elsa didn't, she stayed how she was for ages, sobbing into Anna's neck, until eventually the weight of the world was too much and she felt herself sag. Anna lowered them both to the icy floor.

"Don't leave me," she whispered, "Elsa, please. I need you here. With me."

"And I need you at my side," Elsa murmured. "I'm sorry, Anna, I didn't think about you. I just wanted to escape from myself. But I can't run away from who I am. I can't escape the storm."

"It'll get better," Anna promised. "We'll fix this together. Just, please, please don't ever leave me."

"I won't."

Eventually, Elsa sighed, her cold breath making Anna shudder slightly.

"Oh, Anna, what would I do without you?"

"Probably jump off that balcony."

Elsa managed a teary giggle. "I hope not. Because you'd probably follow me."

"And so would Kristoff and Olaf and Sven," Anna grinned. "Now, will you come home? Where you belong?"

Elsa sat up, finally facing Anna again. "As long as I'm with you, that's where I belong. Wherever you lead, I will follow."

"Then I'll lead you home," Anna said. "And we can face this storm together."

**Excuse me, I just need to go and hug my sister now . . .**

**SpicedGold**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – Controlling the Storm Inside

**Welcome to the final chapter of Facing the Storm. I hope you've enjoyed the story. Conclusions have never been my strong point so I think this chapter is awful, but let's see, shall we? Thanks for reading.**

It was mid-winter in Arendelle.

The city was experiencing a lull in the weather, with the sun shining over the peaceful white snow.

There were two figures trudging through the snow towards Arendelle. One was Kristoff, marching determinedly, with his face set in concentration. "Come on, buddy, you know we need to move a little faster. You'll never get fit again at this pace."

And the other was Sven, limping just behind Kristoff with equal determination. He was still uneven on his injured hind leg, but Kristoff had been taking him out for a long hike every day, and the reindeer was almost fully recovered. The more he worked, the better the leg was getting, and the last time Ace had checked on him, he had smiled and told Kristoff, "A few weeks, and he'll be absolutely fine."

The two of them continued with their hike, and as they clattered back into Arendelle, Sven was level with Kristoff's shoulder.

"Race you to the castle," Kristoff said to his friend, breaking into a jog as the gates loomed.

Sven let out a delighted squeal and broke into a halting trot. He and Kristoff burst through the gates at exactly the same time, and both slipped and capsized.

"What the hell?" Kristoff sat up. "Why is the whole floor ice?"

"Hi, Sven!" Olaf skidded across the ice towards them. "You're just in time to skate with us!"

Sven was trying unsuccessfully to get to his feet.

"Olaf, what is going on?" Kristoff asked, standing up and being immediately tripped again by Sven slipping into him.

"Oh, well, Elsa wanted to take advantage of the weather and let everyone have some fun. So we're skating!" Olaf explained. "Come on, skate with me."

"Where is Elsa?" Kristoff propped Sven up. He couldn't see the Queen anywhere.

"She's coming," Olaf assured him. "She just had some things to do first."

* * *

"Is it working?"

"It's impossible to tell with you hovering over me."

"Sorry." Anna took a few steps back. "Do you want me to hide outside?"

"No." Elsa sighed, staring out of the study window into the frozen courtyard below. She drew in a deep breath. "This will work."

Following their return off the North Mountain, Elsa had found herself so completely exhausted that she had fallen into bed and slept like a log until the next afternoon. When she had woken up, Anna had anxiously asked how she was feeling.

"Fine, I guess," Elsa had replied. "Why?"

"There was a massive storm while you were asleep," Anna had explained. "I thought you would be awake. Didn't it bother you?"

It hadn't, Elsa had realised. After that confusing night, Anna and Elsa had managed to put a few pieces of Elsa's icy puzzle together. She only felt sick when she was trying to suppress her powers, and since the storms made her feel more magically inclined, like waving her powers directly in her face, she had always felt awful trying to ignore them. Elsa wished she had known that for the last twenty years.

After trying unsuccessfully to use up all her magic, Elsa had felt incredibly peaceful. And after crying her eyes out with Anna, she was feeling much more emotionally stable. And the sisters had concluded that the problem wasn't Elsa's use of magic – it was a lack of magic.

"After all," Anna had reasoned, "We know your magic is connected to your emotions. Keeping your feelings inside makes you feel terrible, and keeping all the magic inside makes you feel terrible, so the only obvious solution-"

"Is to let it go," Elsa finished knowingly.

And she had. She was using her powers every day, and found that it made her feel a bit more settled at night. And using her magic for big things, like creating huge snowdrifts and freezing the entire courtyard, was like a form of stress relief.

Anna was the best form of stress relief ever, but she couldn't be at Elsa's side all the time, and Elsa had to find other ways to manage. And after breaking down and declaring she didn't want to be Queen any more, Kai and Aaron had stepped up and helped her figure out a new schedule that put a bit less pressure on her.

There had been one other storm since then, and Elsa had sat in her bed, watching it, and was relieved to feel her own storm inside purring gently, like a companion and not a curse.

With each day that was passing she was able to say to herself "I can do this. I've got this under control."

Now, she was watching the courtyard freeze, and Olaf sliding around on it, and could feel the tension leave her shoulders and settle into the ice below her.

Anna bounced back to her side, unable to stay away for long. "So, you're feeling better then?"

"Much."

"And there's no reason to run away and stop being Queen?" Anna enquired.

"No. I've got this. I can handle being me."

"Great!" Anna peered out the window. "Look, Kristoff and Sven are back! Okay, let's go downstairs. Come on." Anna tugged on Elsa's arm.

The Queen let herself be dragged away, and into the sunshine outside. Anna almost slipped onto her butt immediately, but she still had a death grip on Elsa's wrist, so Elsa was able to haul her upright again.

"Thanks," Anna said. "Do you want to skate with me?"

"I've just got one more thing to do," Elsa said, gently prying Anna's fingers off her.

"Okay." Anna wobbled her way towards Kristoff, while Elsa went sure footedly towards the royal stables.

She knew Ace was there, because she had been avoiding him all week. She didn't know what to say to him. She didn't really know what she was going to say now, but she knew she had to say something.

Ace was inside, packing up his things and saying a gentle good bye to each of the horses as he passed them. He looked up, bag hoisted over his shoulder, as Elsa appeared in the door way.

"Hi," she said softly.

"Hello, Queen Elsa," Ace smiled. "I was just getting ready to leave."

"Already?"

"I've stayed long enough. The reindeer no longer needs me, and there are a lot of other animals who do."

"I'm sorry about your brother."

"Thank you, your sympathy is appreciated." Ace stroked the nose of Elsa's horse. "I didn't get along with my brother; I didn't agree with what he was doing with his life. He solved a lot of his problems with violence. He didn't see any other way to do things. I wanted to help him. But he never wanted to listen to me. We hadn't really spoken since your coronation. He was still family, though, so it still hurt to lose him. But I can't change the path he took; I can only take my own."

"You wouldn't have lost him if it wasn't for me," Elsa said softly.

"I see a lot of death, in my work," Ace said. "And a lot of the time, someone is to blame for it. But at the same time, there is good happening that cancels out the bad. It's true that my brother would be alive if it weren't for you. It's also true that you would have never been near him if he hadn't attacked your sister. And when Princess Anna caused you to freeze Arendelle, it made the relationship between you two stronger. Everything is connected, the good and the bad."

"Aren't you angry at me? Even just a little?"

"There is no shame in losing control over the ones we strive to protect. The true shame would have been if you had turned your back on your sister when she needed you. I am angry that I couldn't turn my brother onto a better path. Like Princess Anna was able to do for you. My brother was a life that I wasn't able to save. But Sven was. I was able to right his wrongs." Ace was standing close to her now, his dark eyes looking into her bright blue ones. "I forgive you."

"Why?"

"Because we can't control every turn in our lives. And you need to hear me say it, because until I look you in the eye and tell you that, you are going to hang onto that guilt. And it will weigh you down. We can't control everyone. I loved my brother, and there is a whole in her life now. But I will carry it with me, and change my life so that whole doesn't become who I am." Ace walked past her and out of the stables. He paused in the sunshine to lift his face to the sky and smile. "Thank you for calling for me. It was an honour to work for you."

"I still haven't paid you."

"Do you see that, over there?" Ace pointed towards Sven. The reindeer was being pulled around the ice by Olaf, nipping at his nose and scrabbling to keep his balance. "That, right there, makes my heart richer."

He positioned his bag more comfortably over his shoulder. "Good bye, Queen Elsa. Good luck with your family."

"I'll pay you when you come back," Elsa said to his retreating figure.

Ace looked back over his shoulder. "How do you know I'm coming back?"

"I still owe you dinner." Elsa smiled.

Ace grinned. "I look forward to it."

* * *

"Elsa, spin me!" Anna shouted, sliding across the ice towards her sister.

Elsa braced herself as Anna crashed into her, but she managed to keep both of them upright.

"Quick, turn me, I'm racing Kristoff!"

"Kristoff is on his back spinning like a turtle, I think you have a pretty clear shot at winning," Elsa observed.

"Did you ask the vet out?" Anna turned herself around, using Elsa as a handle.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I have everything I need. Do you need a push?"

"Yep," Anna was ready to 'race' to the other side of the courtyard again. "Okay, push me!"

Elsa shoved her sister, and watched Anna careen across the ice, swerving accidently and tripping over Kristoff as he was half way to his feet.

Elsa giggled at them, as they yelled at each other and blamed the other for falling, or staying fallen.

"Hi Elsa," Olaf sailed past, with Sven's teeth latched into his twig hair and the rest of the reindeer being dragged along on his stomach.

"Hi, Olaf." Elsa smiled down at her snowman.

"Do you want to skate with me?" Olaf offered her a hand.

"Of course." Elsa slid her hand around his and gripped him tightly. He continued his skating, with Sven making amused noises behind them.

* * *

When night fell the weather picked up. Anna was getting ready for bed when the entire castle shook, and the sound of the wind whistled and howled. Hard snow drummed against the window. Anna tiptoed from her room, and knocked gently on Elsa's door.

"Come in."

Anna peered around the door, finding Elsa already in bed, propped up on a few pillows and reading.

"Hey," Anna came all the way into the room. The snow hit the window in another torrent, and its loud pounding almost made Anna jump. She eyed Elsa. "It's a bit weathery tonight."

Elsa lowered her book slightly. "Yeah."

"How's the storm?"

Elsa glanced at the window. "Looks set to stay for the night. Will you be able to sleep?"

"Of course. I can sleep through anything."

Elsa looked relaxed and comfortable, with no visible tension in her body.

"How's the storm inside?" Anna asked, slightly uncertain as to how Elsa would react. Would Anna's question remind Elsa that she was suffering and uncomfortable? Would Elsa be irritated that Anna didn't think she was able to read a book without needing someone to check on her?

But Elsa smiled warmly and sank a little lower into her pillows. "Peaceful. In fact, I think it's sleeping."

"Does that mean you will?"

"It does."

"How long has it been since you actually slept in a snow storm?"

"This, thanks to you," Elsa smiled tenderly at her sister, "will be the first time in forever."

**The End. Good grief, I stole a lot of dialogue from the film throughout this story. Did anyone catch it all?**

**I've got ideas for a few other stories that I might have a go at, if anyone is interested. Mostly because I'm still obsessed with this movie, and I have to get the crazy out somehow. I have to LET IT GO!**

**Sorry, couldn't resist.**

**SpicedGold**


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